Riftwalker
by zipscool
Summary: Rhys Winters: High School dropout, Conduit, reluctant hero. He and his friend Serena are given extraordinary powers by the Empire City explosion and seek Cole MacGrath to find answers. Their journey will have them make friends and enemies, and in a world where nothing is certain any more, Rhys will have to find his own path to see him and his loved ones through the brewing storm.
1. Terrorist

**Updated Chapter One, there was a massive error right at the start, goddamn how could I have missed that?**

**Props to WhiteZephyr for allowing me to include his/her characters and timeline in my fic, whose own inFamous fiction series prompted me to try my own hand at it. Cheers girl.**

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter One: Terrorist**

Ask anyone in Empire City, go on, don't be shy not many of them will bite; most of them are too busy wallowing in their own self-pity to be any sort of dangerous. The rest? Well if you've chanced on one of them, the good news is that it'll be fast. As to what you'll ask, well shit, what do most people ask the survivors of a terrorist attack? Have you buried anyone?

The answer to that question is yes. Two of them; and one was so badly mangled that I'm still wondering if it was really my brother or someone who happened to be in the same pile of rubble that used to be our home in the Historic District. If he survived then he's somewhere else in the city, Neon or the Warren, though if even half the things I've heard about the latter are true then he's probably better off dead.

No, forget I said that, my own brothers for Christ's sake what sort of person would I be if I wished them dead? That being said if they were alive then I'm sure they'd have tried to contact me somehow. They have to be dead. Now I'm hearing them both calling for me, and my parents, even my kid sister for the love of crap, and there ain't no way those three can be dead. They weren't even here when the blast occurred or when the quarantine came into effect. Maybe they're waiting along the quarantine line somewhere, waiting for me, Tommy and Sam. God I can only imagine how they'll react when they find out about my brothers...

Or me...

Since the blast, the plague and the quarantine people have been demonstrating abnormalities; hell the freaks wearing the gas masks who patrol the streets of the Historic District – knocking down anyone who even so much as twitches in their direction – have a few people who can do things out of fantasy. I saw one vanish from sight from the rubble of my home and reappear a few metres to the left to gun down a random citizen in the early days when they were making themselves known. I was having a hard time placing them, their random acts of violence were reminiscent of the gangs that had been swept aside like leaves before a gust of wind, but they marched and drilled like soldiers, professionals. Were they mercenaries? Who would hire them to terrorise a city? Unless... Ground zero? Was there something there worth finding? Would it make more super-people like me? Would it kill us? Would it stop the plague? Amplify it? So many goddamn questions.

Fuck this I'm heading out.

"Hey Rhys!" I heard a voice call to me, which at this place could only be one other person, but she was too late, I was already off the edge and falling fast, my maroon hair whipping around as I descended. Twenty metres until I taste dirt. Fifteen. Ten. Five.

And at the last inch from the ground I vanish, reappearing on the sidewalk as if I'd just been taking a stroll.

"Goddamnit Rhys wait up!" I hear her again, and as I thought she's coming down.

Serena 'Jackdaw' Williams, short hair dyed pitch black, this week's highlights are purple and teal, the former blazing a trail around her left ear, the latter sets her fringe aflame. I'll admit it's an impressive thing to watch, and she does it exclusively for me, unfortunately there are a few problems I have with that. The first is that this over-active ex-ganger is fifteen years old, leaving her two and a half years my junior, don't get me wrong she's developed fine and when she grows up I can tell she'll be an absolute knock-out, but I'd feel wrong if I tried anything, which leads me to my next point: which is that we've been friends for almost half my life, and she's grown on me more as a sister. Finally is that I just don't have the balls to tell it as it is to her face because I like seeing her smile – even in spite of the mess we're all in.

A nail slams into the concrete next to my shoe, I don't flinch, she's a little pissed I dropped out the window of the apartment without saying anything but if she really wanted to hit me, she'd have done it. Or at least tried – whether I wanted her to hit me or not is another story entirely and pardon the pun but I've grown rather attached to my assorted limbs and digits. Oh yeah, the last problem I have with this teen crush of hers, which kinda ties in with the last one I gave: She has powers like me. For starters, can you imagine what our kids would be like? Secondly is that she could actually really hurt me if I piss her off enough, but bless her little boots her time as a ganger's given her patience that could put Christ to shame, I'd not got so far as to call her cautious though.

You ever seen X-Men? Actually don't answer that. While I'm fairly certain they can't sue her just because she's the real deal and they just own a comic book character I can't imagine they'd be too impressed knowing that this girl standing before me can manipulate magnetic fields. Only small or a few medium ones though, anything larger than a four-wheeler – forget about it, but I think it's a small consolation at best.

We've asked each other about our abilities, and honestly, it's difficult to explain. I'd feel irritated at Serena just telling me that she can just 'feel' the fields there and that moving stuff feels fuzzy and strange – like she's sprouted an extra limb that's lifting it up, except my case is kinda the same. I teleport. No wait, hear me out, it's more than that I promise. Aside from getting a really funky but at the same time nauseating light show whenever I 'jump' as Serena calls it, when I re-enter, I feel stronger, faster. It's never for very long but it's there, and it's saved my life on one occasion against the gas-mask mercenaries walking up and down the District like they own the place. Oh yeah, there's also a bit of an explosion – no wait, more like a shockwave – when I re-enter, so yeah, concussion-dealing and temporary super-strength, and the ability to pretty much wave buh-bye to any sort of trouble that comes my way provided of course that said trouble hasn't latched its greasy mitts onto me when I jump.

"Rhys, you there? You're kinda staring off into space..." her voice cuts through my haze of thoughts and I shake my head to clear it, focusing on the now.

"Sorry, off in a whole other world." I mutter to her, giving her a friendly grin, an almost unnoticeable tint of red races into her cheeks – she hides it well. I wonder how long this goes back, I only honestly found out by accident a day after the explosion. A chunk of a collapsing shop struck her on the head, there was so much blood I actually thought she was dead but the stubborn thing pulled through, kept muttering in her sleep (and good lord some of the things I hear during the nights... it's hardly the sort of things you'd expect a fifteen year old to dream about, lifestyle be damned).

I notice a set of fingers snapping in front of my face. I'd just drifted off again.

"Okay seriously what are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Nothing." I replied almost instantly. It was a pathetic answer and both of us knew it but hopefully she'd not pry, though her raised eyebrow and folded arms told me she'd remember this. I relented a little and decided to tell her why I'd suddenly taken off.

"Alright I was thinking about the gas-mask guys running the place and why they might be here. I got to thinking that they might be looking for something and to my mind the only thing that might be worth a damn to these people would be at ground zero." She lowered her brow, she was all business now – the mercs had slaughtered most of her old gang, those she hadn't seen gunned down were missing and hadn't tried to contact her, or couldn't but I'd not voiced that opinion.

"So what, the crater? It's been a week and a half since these assholes rolled in. I think they'd have found anything valuable by now." she was kinda right, I might be dead on the money about there being something at GZ but it might be too late to find it... But then if they'd got it? Then what were they still doing here? Maybe I was wrong but my curiosity was killing me and I had to find out.

"You know what Serena, you want to stay here be my guest, I'll just go on my own." I was about to jump when I felt a hand take hold of my shoulder. I should've guessed.

"Hold on tight and close your eyes." I smirked. The last time she'd looked when I jumped, she'd spent three whole days in bed just lying there, not eating or drinking, like she was dead to the world or something.

I focused on a point by the crater and then the rush came. I had the sensation of travelling at a speed so high it felt almost like it'd tear the flesh from my very bones.

Then we were there. My ears popped, and we stood on top of the skyscraper that previously dominated the Historic District, it was still the largest building in the city, but the blast had crippled its foundations, and it leaned perilously to one side. People tended to steer clear of the area – some because it brought back terrible memories, most though because they feared that one day the supports would snap and the building would finally finish its descent.

I'd never been on top of this thing before now. It was hard to miss it even from the other two districts and a friend of mine from high school once boasted that he'd scale the whole building and climb back down again. I'd not seen him since before the blast – hell I'd pretty much dropped out of school by then, Empire City High wasn't exactly the worst place you could go but it had its share of bullies, a few of which seemed to take my very existence as a personal slight. So they ambushed me in a back alley with a few friends. I was lucky Todd was having a few of us over for dinner, doubt I would've made it out of there otherwise – Todd didn't though. One of the assholes pulled out a knife – even _his _friends freaked out a little when they saw it, probably just thought they'd rough me up a bit and leave it at that. He came at me, and Todd – poor, scrawny Todd who'd never so much as raised his hands in anger before – jumped in his way...

I pounced on him and broke that fucking psycho's arms, wailing on him until his face was a pulpy mess and a passing teacher found some cops on patrol and broke it up. I still wonder how I got off with just an expulsion and not a court case, the other guy at eighteen years old went to jail after having his face stitched back together. Fucker deserved that and more, and I really hope he got it when the blast went off...

I'm sorry where was I again?

"So we're here. See anything?" Serena asked. I made a face and glanced at her.

"We're not gonna see anything from up here smartass. We gotta get down there." I told her, Serena scrunched up her features and tilted her head to one side.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean those gas-mask guys said it was irradiated or something." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh right because those freaks are the _pinnacle _of truth and justice and all that shit. C'mon if it was really irradiated I think they'd be wearing more than just trench coats and masks." I argued, hopping off the edge and teleporting to a lower ledge to get a better view of the massive crater, it looked deserted from where I'd been standing but people looked like ants from way up there. I needed to get closer to get a better idea of who was lurking around.

So far there was nothing there. Jumping to the bottom of the skyscraper at the very edge of the massive crater, I could see that there was nothing here. It was a strange sight; this scene of destruction in a place so familiar to me, the road that trailed outside where an entire city block used to stand was completely deserted, and behind the wrecked parking lot too. There was no one here any more. Taking a tentative step forwards I suddenly stopped – what if I was dead wrong and this place really _was _irradiated, I could be walking into the equivalent of a nuclear reactor without any sort of protection. I'd said to Serena that the gas-mask freaks didn't seem to be wearing much of the way of radiation protection, but they lugged those tanks around on their backs too didn't they? What if those tanks gave them some sort of immunity or protection from the radiation? It wasn't entirely impossible right? They had people who could make themselves invisible to the eye and then there were those drones that lobbed grenades – these guys looked well ahead of our time. I felt very, very bad about coming here.

Then, quick as a snap, all those thoughts disappeared as I realised that if this place really was irradiated then I'd already stepped into it and therefore was already fucked – what'd walking around a little longer mean if I was already a dead man? Feeling strangely invigorated by the morbid thought, I stepped into the crater, hearing Serena land behind me, I didn't need to look to know she was worried, but I hadn't dropped dead or sprouted a third arm yet so I continued on.

My lap of the crater took me about fifteen minutes, when I still felt good I checked the rest, including what I could only assume was the eye of this particular storm. It was strange, bombs usually levelled everything right? So why was this pillar of earth still standing while everything around it had been utterly decimated? It was almost like it had been some sort of shockwave. A chill crept up my spine. The blast gave rise to all this crazy shit happening – the plague, the quarantine, the gangs that now ruled Empire City, as well as giving me and Serena powers beyond human capabilities. Could this blast – and everything that followed it – have been the work of someone with powers of his or her own? The idea of someone capable of bringing about this much devastation chilled me to the very core of my being. The idea of trying to stop said someone sat even less well – but how could I do nothing? I was probably the only person who had come to this conclusion, hell probably the only person who had even come _near_ the crater since the day the blast turned this city on its head. The gas-mask freaks certainly wouldn't do anything, why would they? They had an agenda of their own. Could they be searching for this guy too? Why? Argh so many goddamn _questions!_

I reeled, clutching my head which had begun to ache. I hacked and sputtered, my throat felt like it was aflame. I hawked and lowered a hand to my mouth, feeling something run through my fingers. I didn't need to see it; I could taste the copper in my mouth. Shit. I'd been wrong. This place _was _irradiated and to sate my own damn curiosity I'd dragged Serena along and probably killed her too. Almost blindly, I stumbled from the epicentre and jumped to the edge of the blast, Serena was at my side in an instant, questions practically spilling from her soft red lips. I didn't bother answering, I grabbed hold of her and jumped as many times as I thought possible in order to get us away from that abominable place, emerging somewhere in the middle of the district. I didn't know where; by the time we emerged from the other plane I'd collapsed and felt my consciousness withdraw.

I dreamt of destruction, screams, people dying and feeding a raging inferno that engulfed the entire city and blazed through the nation destroying all in its path. I dreamt of a city surrounded by swamps, lit up like a beacon and standing against the inferno where everything else burned around it. I dreamt of a lightning storm so terrible that it shook the ground like an earthquake. I dreamt of a group of strangers – their faces shrouded by smoke and the shadow of the towering blaze, of a clash between these men, women and children and the storm that tore the ground and ruptured the very skies. I dreamt of a girl on fire, hair ablaze like the powers she wielded, standing with the storm, duelling with another raging wildfire as black as midnight. I dreamt...

Too damn much.

Hacking and sputtering wasn't the best way to wake up, but at least it confirmed that I was alive. I'd begun fearing that I'd be dreaming for the rest of eternity. Something stirred at my feet, I was abed, and Serena laid on top of my legs. If it weren't for the fact I was hawking up my life fluid I'd probably have found her adorable, and immediately after thinking just that a pang of guilt shot through me. This couldn't go on, the longer I said nothing the more I led her along, and the harder hit she'd be when she learned. I had to tell her, consequences be damned.

She was already stirring, brought back to reality by my really shitty wake-up call; I leaned up, grimacing as I felt pain shoot through my chest. I was back at her place – dirty, old posters of different musicians and punk bands, a few scattered clothes she'd not bothered to put away, drab white wall paint. It was good to be home. She must have carried me back here after I'd fainted.

"You feel okay?" I heard her ask when I stopped sputtering like an old car engine.

I waited a moment to see if I'd start up again before replying.

"No." I admitted, and a slight frown appeared on her face.

"Well, I got good news. We're not gonna grow third arms or anything." I glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I found a doctor on our way back here. Said that the First Sons took most of his stuff but he had enough of it to check." She explained. I nodded in understanding, then glanced back at her.

"First Sons?" She nodded her head, and then poked a thumb to her window. I got her meaning.

"So they do have a name. Sounds kinda occultist for a merc group." I sighed, shut my eyes and found myself thinking about my dream.

"Actually the doc said that he doesn't think they're mercenaries." I opened my eyes again, appraising Serena and motioned for her to continue.

"He said that one of them showed him this symbol when they took the stuff from his clinic – after he pointed his gun at him – and he said that he's seen it before, somewhere in_ this city_!" she exclaimed, clearly excited. Nothing got her mood up like a good conspiracy theory.

"So what, these guys have their base here or something?" I asked her.

"I dunno, the doc just said he'd seen their symbol here, they could be like a global-spanning organisation or something!" she paused "Hey... Do you think maybe these guys caused the blast?"

This sleuthing deal was beginning to wear me down; I felt like someone had driven an axe into my skull and dumped a kilo of salt onto the wound just to give me more grief. Right now all I wanted to do was guzzle down as much food as I could get and sleep the day away. Only there was barely any food and sleep – while certainly attractive at present, would probably only take me back to the dreams. I heard Serena fidget nervously at the foot of the bed and was about to say something – anything – to break the string of thoughts I've had on the origin of this crisis when the TV blared into life, static filled the screen, and a voice I wasn't familiar with blared through the speakers.

"Take a look at this Empire City! The footage you're seeing was taken by a security camera near Ground Zero! This 'accident' destroyed our city! Our _lives_! Someone from your family died? Well now you know who to blame." A still, colourless image appeared, displaying a man wearing a dark and light leather jacket; dark pants with a light strip down his right leg and a sling bag with a phone attached to it. He had a shaved head and a light stubble. The image stayed on-screen for a moment before switching to a live broadcast of a guy wearing glasses, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and a white shirt "If you know anything about this guy, let me know cause we got to get the word out on this terrorist! Whoever he is, we're gonna make him pay!" The broadcast ended then.

Neither of us said anything for a while, even after the pirate broadcast ended. Then, about five minutes after, Serena spoke up.

"I think I know that guy." That was news. She didn't turn around, still fixated on the TV.

"Well, not know-know him, but more 'seen you around' know him. I think he's a delivery-man or something, rides a bike dropping off packages. Come to think of it... He passed this place on the day of the blast... Holy shit." Suddenly she was all activity.

"_He _did it! Holy shit we were hiding a goddamn _terrorist _in our city this whole time! Everything is because of him! The quarantine, the gangs, the fucking _blast_, every lick-shit of crap that's happened to anyone in this city is because of a fucking _delivery boy!_" she raged, pacing up and down the room. The TV hovered in the air, as did other assorted items in the room, the bed was starting to shake too – if she didn't calm down she might accidentally do me some serious damage, I had to calm her down – fast.

"These gangs, are they in on it too? These First Sons guys have people with powers right? You've seen 'em. I've been hearing that there are others like 'em in the other gangs in the city too, the Reapers and the Dust Men they're called. Jesus Christ it's a goddamn super-freak hostile takeover!" she continued ranting on, growing ever more engrossed in something becoming more and more nonsensical by the second.

"You know, you're one of those 'super-freaks' too." The withering glare she shot me through those violet eyes told me that this wasn't the time, though the levitating objects lowered a little, but now they started shaking instead as if they were about to burst like an overripe melon, it was a wonder she'd not noticed them yet.

"Serena, you need to calm down, you're – "

"No Rhys, I'm _perfectly _calm!" She was getting really angry now, this wasn't going too well, she turned her head, resuming her pacing and her imagination that had likely by now escaped the track and flown off into the distance "What if they had help from outside? You saw how fast the quarantine came down it's like they knew it'd happen or something, maybe they're all working together..."

Okay this was getting ridiculous, drastic measures needed to be taken. Now. Before she brought the landlord up to see what the fuss was all about. Ignoring my protesting body, I forced myself out of bed and limped towards Serena, who was now facing away from me considering more impossibilities. As I reached out for her, I could only think over and over again how badly I was going to regret this.

I grabbed her, and pulled her into me, giving her quite possibly the tightest hug she'd ever been given in her lifespan. I heard her gasp in surprise and I was glad I couldn't see her face. The floating assorted objects crashed back to the ground – we were going to need a new portable radio, and Serena had just lost a few of her CDs, but thankfully the TV looked like it was okay.

"C'mon. You're not very cute when you're angry you know..." I heard myself say, and cringed inwardly. Goddamn of _all_ the things I could have said... She tensed up as if she'd been expecting a blow, but relaxed almost immediately after.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..._

I could have gone on with that train of thought, but Serena had detached herself from me and was now sitting down on a chair that creaked louder than anything I'd ever known. She took a deep breath and sighed, before looking back up at me (presumably after her face had regained its natural colour).

"Thanks... I was uh... getting pretty out of control there." She trailed off.

"No problem." I replied, dumbly. An awkward silence descended upon us until Serena started giggling like a school girl.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing, nothing. Just..." she opened her mouth as if about to continue, then closed it. She looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. I sighed in an exasperated manner and hung my head comically before bringing it back up, all the while mentally kicking myself.

_Me and my big fucking mouth._

We tidied up the room, making sure anything that had fallen still worked, piling everything that didn't into a corner for us to sort out later. Serena leaned up against the bed, I sat on the edge, silence reigned again for a moment before Serena once again took it upon herself to fix it.

"So... What do we do now?" she asked. I put a hand up to my chin and caressed my growing stubble – give it a few more days and I'd need a shave.

"We know who the... bomber is. I guess we need to find him." I was reluctant to tell her exactly what I thought of the blast and the 'terrorist' at its epicentre. Serena nodded appreciatively, then glanced up at me.

"And what, beat the shit out of him for starting this whole thing?" she asked.

"No." I confirmed, my voice hard as gravel, and had more steel to it than I actually felt at that moment "We find him, and we ask him why. Why did he do this? Why now? What connection does he have to these First Sons guys and the other gangs. We find out the whole purpose behind this attack. When we know..." I paused, turning my gaze from the wall in front of me down to Serena

"We'll _scalp_ that motherfucker."

**Cameos man. Also the first special appearance of one of WhiteZephyr's characters. I don't think you need me to patronize you by telling you which part of the story it is.**

**No lengthy AN here, if you do perchance leave a review, constructive criticism would be appreciated. That is all.**


	2. Conduits

**Well, isn't this a pretty sight, updated this just before I go off to uni tomorrow, studying History and Creative Writing in Wrexham (which by the way is an absolutely bloody beautiful stretch of Wales). It's a shame that I still haven't gotten around to updating some of my other stories and with much of my time assuredly going towards my studies and ahem... 'other things' I doubt I'll really have much time to continue writing. That said I doubt many of you who've read anything by me were really expecting me to update all that regularly anyway. Thanks again to anyone who takes the time to read this story of mine and any others – incomplete as they are. Thanks especially to those who take the additional time to review; you're brilliant, particularly those who leave constructive criticism as well.**

**Also while I'm still talking I'll just confirm that Cole's karma alignment is good for this fic as it is kinda based around WhiteZephyr's own story. Okay? Good.**

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Two: Conduits**

You know, you see in movies where a guy's wanted universally by a large sometimes shady, other time decent organisation like Interpol or something. Then along comes a group of two or three people and within a week of them taking an interest in the guy they find him where the big wigs have been fruitless for ten odd years?

That's not at all like the situation we're in now.

A part of me's calmer about it – I mean shit, Empire City's a pretty huge place and while this quarantine's in effect Cole's not going anywhere soon. There's also the gangs to consider, three of them each ruling a district of Empire with an iron fist, cracking down on anything that even murmurs of resistance. At some times I think we got off lucky to get these First Sons people, from the rumours I've been hearing, the Reapers are just as like to shoot you as they are to ignore you, and the Dustmen have apparently been taking people off the streets to work as slave labour on a massive construct. Here they generally tend to leave you be unless you do something to antagonise them, and with those sci-fi drones they have hovering around the district I'd not be surprised if they'd know if someone so much as farted in the wrong direction.

The other part of me is a little frustrated. Okay really, this guy's face was probably broadcasted to every working TV in Empire City, he's the guy responsible for the shithole we're in. I can't imagine he's anything less than the most hated man in the city and yet we've turned up all so far. Serena swears she saw him enter the Historic District, and the footage from that pirate broadcaster supports her claim so why haven't we found him yet? Could he have escaped the district before the blast? After it? It would explain why we've not seen him yet. Or maybe he's already dead? Then what was the point in that broadcast? Give people something to vent on? I'll admit, knowing exactly who was behind my brothers' deaths sets my mind at ease somewhat.

No, he's still alive. I recall the crater, and the chunk of land that stood at its centre. Someone capable of wielding that amount of power won't go out without a fight surely. I suppose it's fallen to me and Serena to make sure he doesn't get to use it again.

I'm still unsure of how exactly I'll explain to her that the person we're hunting can level entire city blocks on his own some... maybe it'll come out later. Maybe I'll tell her and she still won't give a crap. She's out for blood, I can see it in her eyes when she insists that we continue searching even early in the morning when its dark – and the First Sons' drones patrol the streets. Anyone spotted outside after the drones take over gets the lead/grenade treatment, but generally they don't think to look up which is how me and Serena have escaped their wrath thus far.

We've combed the Historic District several times now, no lynch mobs or anything, I guess people here seem to think surviving is more important that trying to gun for a guy who's probably not even in this stretch of city. I'm certainly beginning to think he's not here either but Serena still persists that she saw him here the day of the blast. I've decided to humour her, told her that we'll keep searching for one more day and if we turn up nada we'll head to one of the other districts.

I suppose I can't really complain too much, the searching's keeping us active, and with the First Sons patrolling the streets cracking down on anything deemed too unruly there's precious little to do – especially since they cut the power to the whole district two days ago. Water still runs, but we've had to make do with cold cans of soup and beef since none of us knows how to start a fire without possibly burning the whole apartment block down.

_At least we _have_ a place to sleep at night._ I think as I look down on those filthy streets, so many people lost their lives yet dozens of people are still out on the streets searching for food or, shit, any sustenance they can find. Hiding in back alleys and in dumpsters and skips when the drones pass at night – generally they stay out of the alleyways, I don't know whether its because of programming difficulties or the fact that people tend to try ambushing the things in them... Hell it might even be some tiny amount of kindness, though you'd never think it when you see one of those impassive masks gun down a crying woman, skeletal thin from starvation with a baby wailing in her arms... Actually no, I just don't think it's possible. Those guys have given us no reason to believe they give a shit about anyone here before, I can't imagine for the life of me why they'd start now.

I shake uncomfortable memories from my head and resume checking the streets below, watching for a buzz cut, a bag and a firm, set face. Nothing here either. Disappointing, but not unexpected in the slightest. Hm. Someone's caught the attention of the new cops in town, one's asking him something, the guy's nervous, but other than stroll over the road he's not done anything. The mask doesn't like the answer he's got. He raises his gun and strikes him viciously with the butt, knocking him to the ground and probably breaking his jaw. People are standing just watching now, a few are moving trying their best to ignore the scene and the beaten man's cries of pain as he tries to call for help.

I squeeze my eyes shut as tight as possible and force myself to turn away, three gunshots ring out mere seconds later and I feel a part of my very being die with that innocent victim. I hate not being able to do anything but what can I do?

_More than most._

There were five more of his friends behind him, all armed and without qualms about shooting a few more civilians to make a point.

_You still could have saved him._

I've still not mastered my own powers yet. Teleporting in rapid succession still exhausts me and if I really overdo it I throw up blood and pass out.

_You're making up excuses._

I couldn't have done a thing. Even if I'd tried fighting them I'd just have been adding another body to the pile.

_Who said anything about fighting them? You could easily have jumped in front of him, taken hold and jumped away._

No no no. That wouldn't have worked, I'm sure they'd remember him – and they'd definitely remember the face of the guy who appeared from out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Nothing would change and I'd be a wanted man... And imagine the trauma the guy might experience, he'd probably hate me just as much as them – at the very least he'd distrust me just because I have powers.

_Maybe. But what if you're wrong. What if they wouldn't remember his face? Yours even? If you did it fast enough, you'd have been in and out before anyone so much as glimpsed your face._

.

_You killed him. You may not have fired the shot or broken his jaw but your inaction murdered him as much as the masks._

"FUCK OFF!" I bellow to no one in particular. I don't want to hear the voice in my head because I don't want it to be right. My breathing quickens, sweat's rolling down my head, plastering my maroon hair to my skull. Transfixed by the execution, I never noticed it at all. It feels like I'm being showered in ice, and I have the urge to throw up.

Even looking back on it now my course of action should have been clear. I _could_ have saved the guy, could've gotten the both of us out there before they'd so much as blinked but I just stood there like a deer in the headlights. Guilt almost cripples me then and there. A man is dead and it's on my hands.

I'm a coward. Hear me oh world, Rhys Winters is a fucking coward who didn't lift a finger to save even a single person.

A thought comes to me and I fall to my knees. If I can't even face a group of the masks then how in the hell and I supposed to stand up to a man who can topple entire buildings with a wave of his hand? Suddenly this task I've set myself seems impossible. I'm a seventeen year old dropout. My brothers are dead, I'm isolated from the rest of my family and the gangs and mercenaries occupying the city will execute you without a second thought at the drop of a hat. I can't do this. I just can't. I –

"Hello? What're you doing up here?" a voice asks, light, almost sing-song in tone, with a distinct brogue to it which was just the icing on the cake.

Turning in the direction of the voice, I found a girl standing before me. She looked around my age if not a mite older. Smooth bleach blonde – almost snow-white – hair spilled just below her shoulders from her ponytail with bangs that framed a face with everything precisely where it needed to be, blemished only by a few smudges of dirt and a faded bruise. She was dressed in a dark blue zip-up hoodie with some old sports logo stitched across the chest; a blue-white striped tank top lay underneath, accentuating some not ungenerous curves. She wore faded khaki cargo pants with a grey camouflage pattern and red running shoes. I felt a heat build up in my face as I realised that I was staring. I expected an impatient reply; instead all I got was a light-hearted scoff.

"Well at least all you're doing is looking." she giggled and I physically felt the blood heat up my face – a not unpleasant feeling given the steadily increasing chill of changing seasons. Still feeling red-faced, I willed myself to open my mouth and speak.

"Uh. What are you doing up here?" I asked, hoping my voice wasn't too shaky. I was reluctant to say I was smitten by her looks but goddamn...

"I'm looking for someone." She said, innocently "I heard she might be around here so here I am."

"Looking for who? Sister? Friend?"

"I've got no family and any friends I had're probably dead." She chirped. Okay, that was a little strange, I was still mourning a little over the loss of my brothers and that had been more than two weeks ago. How could this girl be so cheerful?

"So... What, you got your own place or something?" she didn't answer – just smiled and shook her head. Then I realised it didn't matter because I was talking to a girl on the roof of a building with no way up here that any normal person could use. Suspicion clouded my mind and I forced myself back onto my feet and took a slight step back, forcing my features to harden – for all I knew she could be one of the masks.

"I'll give you something mate, you took a bit shorter to get your guard up than most of the other guys. They were still staring by this time." She tittered and waved an arm in an apologetic manner.

"Sorry, I'm usually a bit ahead of myself sometimes. My name's Sía. If I decide I like you enough maybe I'll tell you me last name." She grinned. I raised a brow.

"So... Sheer, how did you – "

"No. Not Sheer. _Sía._" My blank expression made her throw up her arms in exasperation "What is wrong with the people here? I'll write it down for you later."

"Later? What makes you think there's going to be a later?" I asked her. She folded her arms and smirked.

"The fact that you couldn't keep your eyes off me since I appeared in front of you. Oh! And that I know you're one of us." She leaned forwards, arms still folded and still grinning.

"Us?" I asked hesitantly, though I knew what she meant.

"Yeah. I saw you teleport up onto the roofs a while back, been following you since this mornin' trying to catch up." She said matter-of-factly. As flattered as I was that I'd drawn the attention of such a pretty creature my gut was still telling me to stay alert – and to hurry up and give it something.

"Didn't you say you were looking for someone?" I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice.

"Yeah, but she can take care of herself, she's like us too." She started swinging on the balls of her feet, which felt like it was becoming more and more hypnotic to watch.

"How so?" I asked.

"She's a girl on fire – literally. Burns everything she touches to ash. Hear she's been kicking the crap out of the Reapers in the Neon, her and the Electric Man." She answered. I didn't detect anything that resembled a lie in her speech, but then people have always said I'm more gullible than most.

"Alright so why do you want to find her exactly?" I asked again, feeling like the host in a quiz show.

"Gonna find her and Sparky, persuade 'em to kick the gangs out of the city." She smiled, completely serious.

"Alright, let's just say for a moment that I believe what you've just said is possible, you've been searching for these people, but we've kinda been searching for another. Maybe after we find him we'll talk about it?" I dropped my guard, fairly sure she'd not try anything – honestly she just didn't seem the backstabbing type.

"How about we help each other out? You're looking for someone too; maybe we can all get together and find a solution that makes everyone happy? What's the guy's name? Or gal's?"

I dropped my gaze to the floor, a little embarrassed.

"We... don't actually know. We just know what he looks like." A laugh filled the air around us.

"Well that's a brilliant start. C'mon. Come with me, we conduits should stick together, maybe when we're kicking some ganger arse we'll find your guy along the way." She lifted herself into the air and did a mock kung-fu kick for emphasis. I was half-tempted to grin at the way she seemed to take everything in stride. I didn't even care what she called people like... Wait...

"Conduits?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's what the gas mask gangers call people with powers apparently; one I interrogated said they knew all about them." The image of this girl questioning a First Son caused me to guffaw and she fixed me with a questioning look. I brushed her off and shook my head to clear it; I'd had to take a lot in over the last five minutes.

"Alright. I'll think about it..." She nodded in understanding and before I could say anything more, she turned around and dropped off the edge of the building.

Suppressing several curses I dashed to the edge, just in time to hear a loud _crash_. I fixed my eyes below and lo and behold – there she was, walking away from a large crack in the sidewalk below as if nothing had happened. I wondered briefly what exactly her power was, then decided that it didn't really matter and that it was almost time for me and Serena to meet up back at her place for the evening. Somehow I doubted that she'd turn anything up.

As I began the route back to her apartment, I thought back to what the gir– _Sía _– had said. Involuntarily I also thought about the dream I'd had a few days ago. The electric man, the girl on fire, I couldn't help but think that they had something to do with it. What exactly I doubted I'd find out any time soon – hell maybe not ever, but as I landed on the rooftop of what was now home sweet home and descended the staircase to the rooftop, I smiled to myself. We were cold, had no power, and death awaited us every day. But we were in no way alone.

**I didn't think much of the end to this one, but I felt strapped for options (and I'm sure the two ciders I had before finishing this off didn't help). As always, read and review would be appreciated, constructive criticism would be appreciated even more so.**

**Have a good one folks. I know I will.**


	3. Casualties

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter 3: Casualties**

It had been a fruitless search in the Historic District so far, near on four days of searching and zilch. I'd finally managed to convince Serena that the guy wasn't here – he'd probably gone to ground after the bomb had gone off in another island. The bursts of energy we'd been getting at the start of our little manhunt had sputtered out, and fatigue was now and truly settling on us, for me, it was drowsiness and the occasional space-out. For Serena it was frustration and goddamn... I know this girl, her life as a ganger's done wonders for her virtue of patience surprisingly, she's faced down people almost double her height with more tattoos than you'd find in a parlour and come out smelling like – well alright smelling like back alley brawl but you see where I'm going with this.

To revise what I said earlier; I managed to convince her but certain words were said, a couple of insecurities dug up, and we were barely speaking to each other now. As such, I was searching the northern half of the Neon District while she took the south. So far I'd found all of nothing. Actually, not quite nothing, something actually pretty damn serious, and when I found out I'd not been sure whether I was enraged or just outright impressed.

The guy's name was Cole MacGrath. How did I know that? There were fucking _posters _of the guy _everywhere_. MacGrath had been parading himself as a hero since a week ago. I couldn't believe the balls this guy had – he goes and blows up half a district, killing untold millions and probably brought in the First Sons too and now he acts like he's fighting against it? It doesn't make any goddamn sense. People here seem to have done a complete one-eighty of their opinion when his face was broadcasted across Empire City for all to see, and scarily enough it actually seems to be doing the place some good. The streets here seem almost _clean_, people seemed to be going about with their heads held high, a few shops were actually open.

And the noise... God I'd forgotten for a moment that I lived in a city! It was so quiet in the Historic District, here however – the power was on, people were driving their cars around, a few street performers were dancing or playing a few instruments in the street. Oh yeah and the Reapers were almost nowhere to be seen. I caught a few patrolling the rooftops but they all seemed guarded, defensive. It was nothing like the Historic at all... All because of that one guy, a human H-Bomb...

I couldn't wrap my head around it, and if my head was reeling then I could only imagine the headache Serena must be suffering. The girl was looking for blood, willing to wait 'til he'd answered my questions when we eventually found him, but I didn't want to be around when she finally took her vengeance for her dead friends. I didn't want to imagine the effect this might be having on her, or her temperament which seemed to be getting increasingly more fragile as the says dragged on.

I ducked into a back alley while no one was watching and jumped to the roof of one of the many commercial buildings that lined the city. No shouts of surprise or amazement, or gunshots, I think I'm good. I continued my search across the rooftops, avoiding the occasional patrolling Reaper, but as with the Historic, I found nothing. Demoralisation was now fast becoming a regular thing for me, and I wasted a few moments wondering if we shouldn't just call it quits before slamming the door firmly on that idea's grimy fingers. Serena probably would have done it anyway but I'd suggested this, and I'd be damned if anyone said I never saw anything through to the end.

My mind wandered to the crater, the man who wields that power, and again how we're going to stop him. This whole alleged hero deal still reeks to me, I can't imagine for the life of me why he'd be doing this unless... unless the bombing wasn't his fault... No, the imagery from that Voice of Survival guy on the TV was pretty clear, he was definitely at Ground Zero, but what if it was faked? What if someone had set him up? Was it the First Sons? Seemed likely given their tech and the myriad of conspiracy theories surrounding them – some of which I'm ashamed to admit actually sounded pretty solid. I shook my head and tried to force these thoughts from my head. I wasn't like this, worried, constantly doubting, I'm a pretty laid-back guy, not the brightest bulb but a far cry from lazy. I felt suddenly exhausted and dropped onto my backside before sighing heavily and leaning back, my hands behind my head and shut my eyes, trying to absorb it all.

Soft footsteps behind me, coming up towards my head; probably Serena, it sounds too light to be anyone else. They stop just before my head before I hear a voice I've not heard in days.

"Heya handsome, taking a kip?" I crack open both eyes to make sure I'm not hallucinating.

To be sure, Sía stands over me, leaning over my head like a curious little child, though her eyes are full of mischief and her grin is anything but innocent. God help me I actually want to find out what she tastes like...

And now I feel dirty...

Shaking off a faint flush of embarrassment I manage to mutter a 'What you want?'

"You haven't called, you haven't written. I've not seen you in so _long_. I wonder if you even care about me." She pouts while swinging herself back and forth on the balls on her feet, though I can see the humour in her eyes.

"Well it's not like you really left me a number, or an address." I deadpanned as I got myself up, having recovered from my earlier state relatively quickly. Her eyes lit up even brighter – clearly this was a girl who enjoyed her banter.

"Well that _was_ absent-minded of me, how about we discuss it over dinner sometime?" I sighed, contrary to what she seemed to think I didn't really enjoy games of word exchange; that was more Serena's field.

"Alright, what do you want, and how did you find me this time?" I asked tiredly. She giggled and swung on her feet once more before stopping and fixing me with a sly grin.

"Same as last time, you're pretty easy to follow – just not so easy to catch up with." I felt myself frown, evidently sleuthing was one more thing I could add to the list of things I'm not so good at.

"That's one, number two please?" I folded my arms and looked at her expectantly.

"Oh what any fun-loving bird my age wants – more fun!" I didn't reply, just continued fixing her with a cool stare waiting for her to get to the damn point.

"Alright, sheesh, lotta guys your age managed to keep this going for much longer than you have. What's your deal?" She leaned forward again, peering at me like I was something to be examined.

"I'm not very good at word games, more my friends area." I answered simply, arms still folded.

"Fair 'nough. Alright then, I'll show you, follow me... Unless that ability of yours can transport two?" she asked sweetly. It was very tempting to give in to that adorable face and that sparkle in her eyes...

So I did.

"Take hold, close your eyes and for the love of god don't let go until we've re-entered." I sounded almost like a high school coach – I wonder if Mr. King survived the blast and the gangs...

"Why should I keep my eyes shut? I'd be completely open if you decided to do something bad." She was sporting a grin to rival that of the Cheshire Cat. I sputtered, thrown and not a little offended that she'd so much as suggested such a thing, even if it was obviously a joke. Eventually I recovered and the red left my face.

"Because my friend did it and she was pretty much comatose for almost half a week."

"That's not very long." She looked faintly bemused.

"We're living in a city cut off from the outside with gangers taking whatever they want when they want it. I don't think I've got the facilities or the resources to take care of another one for that amount of time." It was partly the truth. I'll admit I liked her looks and her so-far upbeat temperament, but I barely knew this girl, the one thing I could say with certainty about her was that she had powers, until I knew what I was dealing with though I felt it was best to give her as little reason to raid mine and Serena's place as possible. She didn't seem taken aback by my response, in fact, she started grinning again.

"Cut off? Yeah. But I don't think the gangers'll be much of a problem in a bit of time." I pondered her meaning, then thought back to our first meeting and mentally slapped my face for forgetting it, not because it had seemed like a good idea but because it seemed totally _insane_.

"Oh yeah, that anti-ganger superhero team or whatever. How's that working out for you?" I asked sardonically. I saw her features slacken a bit, as if she were momentarily crestfallen, but she picked herself back up again almost milliseconds later.

"Still not found anyone besides you. You'd think these people'd be more easy to track down – I mean they're both walking light shows! I'm thinking maybe I should look for them at night." Despite myself I chuckled. When I finished I'd decided I'd had enough waiting around I motioned for her to come on over. She did so and stood in front of me.

"So what do I just grab a sleeve or something?" she asked, genuinely curious. I couldn't help but give her a grin of my own.

"Something like." Without warning I grabbed both her arms, and when she began to blink in surprise I jumped a few dozen metres into the air. The rapid change of expressions – from surprise to wonder to terror as we began to fall would stay with me the rest of my life. She was clutching onto me like her life depended on it (which it actually kinda did), and I became uncomfortably aware of her curves. Forcing it to the back of my mind I put one of my hands over her eyes and jumped, placing us safely back on the same rooftop. She took an involuntary pace back and gasped a little before her gasping turned to nervous laughter, which soon blossomed into a full blown hysterics.

"Oh man, that was _awesome._" She gazed up at me for a moment before her laughing softened and a genuine smile broke across her face. I turned my head away, scratching my cheek with a finger nervously. She was making it damn hard for me not to trust her.

"Alright, c'mon, for real this time or we'll miss it." She sauntered over to me and pointed to a building close to the park.

"Over there" she declared, then added as an afterthought "and hop to it!" before wrapping her arms around me and shutting her eyes.

It took every fibre of my being not to kiss her then and there. Is she aware of the effect she has on me? Probably. I decide that it doesn't matter for now and focus on the designated location before the familiar feeling of weightlessness that comes with a jump overtakes me.

Seconds later we re-enter a little to the left of where Sía pointed, I manage to correct the distance with one quick jump and we land perfectly fine on another rooftop overlooking the park. Sía lets go of me and gazes dumbly at her new surroundings before grinning back at me.

"That is _so cool_. I bet you could fly yourself right out of this place if you really wanted to." The thought had occurred to me but I couldn't in good conscience leave Serena in this place on her own. So here I stayed, with gunmen all around me and water that was becoming colder and less frequent by the day.

"Alright, so what is it you wanted to show me?" I ask and she turns sharply on her heel and peers off the edge of the building for a moment before changing her gaze towards the park. Worry overtakes her face before it lights up like a firework, she mutters something under her breath that I think is an expression of relief before turning back to me.

"Alright, they're still here. You see those guys over there?" she points to a fairly sizeable group of people wearing red hoods and brandishing various firearms – they can only be the Reapers. They're clustered around a bunch of people, herding them onto a heavily armoured bus, half a dozen stand guard around the bus to make sure no one gets any bright ideas (_'or in case Mr. Hero shows up'_ I think to myself, idly).

"I'm gonna stop 'em and I need your help to do that." She says, entirely serious. I search her face for any trace of humour, nothing. I glance back to the Reapers at the edge of the park, there's at least twenty of them, three of them are carrying RPGs and five more are holding riot shields with crude Reaper emblems and symbols painted on.

"Did you fall on your head or something? There's like two-dozen guys there all armed with no problems about shooting anyone who even thinks about trying it, even – no _especially _someone like you." She doesn't even argue back, just stands there with a half-smile on her face.

"I know how many there are, I saw it a while before I went to find you." She said, calm and confident behind that playful persona she'd shown me.

"Then you know it's suicide right? I mean come on, if there were like ten more of us then maybe we'd have a shot but with just the two of us? We'd get slaughtered!" I argue, not that I don't want to save those people – God only knows what the Reapers want with them – but realistically, there's a damn good chance we'd get cut down the moment we touched the ground. Sía grabs both my hands and tugs on them slightly, there's a look to her now, and I can see she's let some walls down.

"Look. I've been where you are now, fatalistic, scared, but all you need is just to have someone there who can pull you out of that pit..." I think I hear her mutter 'just like he did for me' under her breath. She lowered her head and pressed her forehead against mine, in the distance the Reapers were ushering the last of the civilians onto the bus, I saw a little girl – no older than Serena – shout a name and rush from a group of morose onlookers, a Reaper took one glance at her before raising his assault rifle and gunning her down, a woman started bawling and screeching in denial.

There it was... another fatality on my conscience...

_How many more must there be before you act?_

I squeezed my eyes shut and before I knew it, I felt something snap. This was going to end. The gangs, the oppression, the fear – all of it. Cole MacGrath could wait; I had bigger fish to fry. Without bothering to warn her I took Sía's hand and jumped successively forwards, building up the pressure I'd release when I made my final entrance. After around eighteen consecutive jumps, I focused on a spot where the Reapers were gathered the thickest and re-entered, the blast blew five away, one slamming with a painful crunch against the side of the bus, the rest were simply propelled away from the entry point, landing uncomfortably. Sía only took a moment to gather her surroundings before putting her own powers into action.

A strange insect-like carapace drew over her legs, spreading until it covered them completely, whereupon she launched herself like a torpedo feet-first into a Reaper's torso. I heard ribs shatter and the ganger was thrown into one of his comrades with such force it bowled them both over and the pair landed in a tangle of limbs. The others had overcome their surprise at being attacked by two Conduits though and even now began to bring their weapons to bear, I jumped behind one and delivered a vicious series of blows to the back of his head, when he dropped I jumped immediately and just seconds later bullets filled the space I'd occupied.

Sía was a maelstrom of violence, her carapace seemed to be completely impervious to harm – though she didn't appear to be able to completely cover herself – she forced it to cover her torso and I watched in amazement as the bullets just ricocheted off her. A few of the Reapers stopped for a moment as if processing that their target still stood after being nailed more than a dozen times. While they stood there, I jumped behind them and delivered imprecise but heavy strikes to their unprotected backs; hardly noble but this was life or death. Eventually none of the Reapers remained conscious, of those, I accounted for seven; Sía had taken down the rest with a grace that made her look almost like a dancer.

A cheer went up from the bystanders who were now emerging from the various places they'd taken cover in when the gunfire started up, a few claps and a wolf whistle pierced the air. Some of them had taken to kicking a few downed Reapers while others removed their weapons, at the centre of attention was me and Sía, who looked like she was enjoying it, but not to the point of revelling in it. I on the other hand undoubtedly looked awkward, simply standing there by a bus as people were helped out. A wail soured the moment and I saw a middle-aged woman crouching over the body of the teenager who'd been executed, the mother. She patted her child's face and murmured for her to open her eyes and breathe. A sombre mood soon dampened the sense of jubilation. I wondered if this was what soldiers at the end of a particularly brutal scrap felt like.

"Rhys!" I twisted my head and Serena darted through the crowd, coming to a halt just in front of me before gaping at the fallen Reapers.

"Wha- Rhys did you-? How..?" the poor thing didn't know where to begin, bless her boots.

"I don't even know myself." I answered, still half-dazed by the past events.

"Hey, you must be that friend he mentioned! Nice to meet you, I'm Sía –"

A loud crack resonated through the park and people screamed, throwing themselves into cover again, a few people even got back on the bus in order to protect themselves. In that brief moment, I felt a hatred for them, they were perfectly fine taking guns and kicking the gangers when they were down but when the shit got going again it was back to frightened animals. In that exact same moment, I shook the feeling from my head – it was only natural, many were unarmed and most had probably never even seen a gun until the gangs started occupying the city.

I turned, looking wildly around for the source of the shot, another crack and a sickening meaty smack of pierced flesh. Someone cried out in pain and time itself seemed to slow as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Another shot, _there!_ On top of the concrete staircase leading to the centre of the park stood a tall Reaper, dressed in a white hooded trenchcoat embroidered with the Reaper emblem, he appeared to have experienced a weapons jam of some sort judging by the way he seemed to be fiddling with his rifle. I took the opportunity to jump, appearing behind him, as my fist was about to connect, the Reaper vanished, and I was lurched off my feet moments later when the reaper smashed the butt of his gun into my face, I felt something give and pain flooded my cheek. Clutching my damaged face, I groaned and was utterly helpless as the Reaper cocked his gun and aimed it at my prone body.

Sía proved how invaluable an ally she made when she came sailing out of the air, her carapace-covered fists poised to deliver a knock-out blow. The Reaper must have seen her out of the corner of his eye because he turned swiftly, but too late to bring his gun to bear. Before she could strike though, the Reaper vanished in a blur, reappearing roughly ten metres from its previous position. Sía slammed into the ground, kicking up rubble and loose concrete while the Reaper took aim, she just managed to bring her arms up in a defensive posture before the conduit opened fire, bullets bounced off her arms, though a few grazed her legs and one cut a nick open on the side of her head, the blood tricking into her blonde hair and discolouring it.

Thing must've realised that its current tactic wasn't working because the Reaper teleported again, reappearing to Sía's right. The Reaper contorted and an unnatural blue glow surrounded its body before it threw its arms open dramatically and a swirl of energy burst forth, catching Sía in the middle. She was flung through the air and landed roughly, knocking the back of her head on the ground, knocking herself out cold.

The Reaper paused for a moment, as if expecting another challenger to appear before it, when none did; it turned back to me, noticing my struggles and deciding to put me out of my misery first. My cheek burned and I knew that my jaw was probably broken, fighting the overwhelming desire to just pass out from the pain, I managed to focus just enough to jump.

I appeared next to the Reaper, who had clearly not been expecting me to appear in front of him, clutching his lapels, I teleported skywards, once, twice, three times, five, eight, until the two of us were higher in the air than anything in Empire City. Then we dropped. The Reaper must've realised what I intended to do because it started thrashing and screaming incoherently, I guess it couldn't transport anything more than itself when it teleported because other than the aforementioned struggling it wasn't doing anything else. The gun barrel was forced in my direction and I twisted to get out of the way as the Reaper squeezed the trigger, the din was lost almost immediately to the rush of the air as it whipped past us, I became acutely aware that I was beginning to freeze up, but managed to push it aside. Three more times the gun flared, and each time I just managed to pull myself out of its path until it finally gave a satisfying 'click'. Using the brief moment the Reaper spent checking his gun confused I gave it two great head butts, dazing it, and setting my jaw line aflame. In its moment of weakness I pulled the spent weapon from its hands and – fuelled by a hatred I'd never felt for a living being before – pummelled it as hard as I could into the Reaper, I got four blows in before my fingers became too numb and the gun slipped from my grasp.

We were barely a hundred metres from the ground when I jumped away, unfortunately I was too lost to the freeze, and I re-entered a good metre above the bus. I landed with a crunch that shook my innards like jelly, I'd be lucky if I got off with just a haemorrhage or something. Coughing and groaning in pain, I rolled to the side to curl into a ball, where I fell off the edge of the bus and landed on the solid, unforgiving concrete. I saw stars for a moment before coming to, my vision was blurry and I was certain I was seeing double. A sickening '_thwack_' and the conduit hit the ground, bursting like an overripe tomato and showering everything a metre from the impact with gore.

As satisfying as that was, I didn't think I'd enjoy it much longer, indeed some of the few police remaining in the Neon – hell, perhaps even in the whole of Empire City – were arriving with curious, but guarded looks. Two people were lying still, crimson spilling out from various gunshot wounds, my heart wrenched as I realised in my hazy state that one was the mother of the girl who was executed, but even that was nothing compared to a sight that almost shattered my very being.

Lying not even two feet away face down, unmoving, broken, with blood pooling steadily around her, lay Serena Williams...


	4. Blame

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter 4: Blame**

It took the better part of a week before I could move without assistance.

In the time I'd spent in a drug-induced hibernation, more dreams had come, or were they visions? The thunderstorm raged against the inferno, but darkness lapped at its heels, draining its power, diverting its attention. The war raged for what felt like days, but by its end the storm was cast down, its heart plucked out by the towering beast while its shadow-mininons devoured the corpse. I felt despair, though I couldn't say exactly why that was.

Every day I dreamed the same, except as the days went by, the elements took on more humanistic elements, until eventually by the time I was deemed fit (I wasn't, but I had to make room for other more badly wounded patients) it truly seemed as if I was watching a clash between two gods, not one of mere elements 'fire versus lightning', but a true battle for the very core of existence. Did that sound melodramatic? Yes. But with little else to see, what could I do but brood on it? Drug-addled as I was. I'd miss the painkillers to be sure, and the drowsing effect they'd have on me – if nothing else, they'd take my mind off the tragedy that saw me still sit in this place each day since I was turfed out.

"Hey." I said, knowing full well that she couldn't hear me, the nurse; a woman named Elise greeted me with a tired smile before giving us some respectful space. I don't know if she thought I was her boyfriend, brother or whatever, and honestly I couldn't really care less. She could be killed on her way to or from this place every day just for doing what she does. While I'll thank her if she manages to save her life, I don't think I'll weep if I find out she'd died one day.

Now that I'm off the drugs, sleep comes less easily to me now; I don't feel nearly strong enough to jump so I can't go back to Serena's place in the Historic, so I've bunked in the Neon. I've gotten too used to the silence back home, but at least the noise keeps those dreams away. I can't figure it out, there's nothing remotely horrifying about them, yet I feel eager to avoid them if at all possible.

I grab a chair in the tiny room, and drag it over to the side of the bed, then I place myself down. The movement's too sudden, too swift, and I feel my ribs protest angrily. Biting down curses, I clasp my hands together and rub my palms awkwardly. I've got no idea what to say to her. Sorry won't cut it at all, because she's on this bed dying and I'm not.

Serena's dye and highlights are fading, black receding, giving way to her natural auburn colour that she said would have complimented my own maroon nicely. At the time I thought she was just joking around – ever since the little girl next door turned eight she'd been dying it. Her teachers had a fit, but after two years of complaining with no change in attitude, they gave up. She was a bright student, hardly the cream of the crop, but good enough for the staff to finally cut her some slack. Then came the gangs... I'd have never suggested them once, but somehow, this group of kids just mucking around in a group just appealed to her somehow.

She's pale as a ghost, tubes hooked into her to pump the blood she needs to keep her body functioning. She's gaunt too, her once full features have receded to the point that she looks like she's aged almost sixty years. Shit if you dyed her hair grey, you'd probably mistake her for a frail old woman. It's painful to look at, but I force myself. If nothing else it'll remind me exactly what I did.

"Hey..." The last person in this whole damned city I want to see calls out behind me, softly, and I feel a cauldron of fury erupt within my breast. I don't deign to turn around. This is her fault as much as mine. She instigated everything, insisting on playing the golden girl. Well here's the fruit of that piece of labour. I'm busted up, and my best friend – the only friend in this place still packing a pulse – lies on a bed in an understaffed, undersupplied clinic and no one's sure if she'll make it through another night. And just to rub it in my face, this girl gets off with only a few scratches and minor bruising.

I hear her steps resound through the room like a drumbeat, even with the hustle and bustle of the city outside the clinic seems as quiet as a grave – apt, considering how few actually leave the place once admitted. She's at my back, and I don't need to look at her to know that childish grin of hers has been wiped from her face. Silence reigns, and goddamn is it uncomfortable, and if it's like that for me, I'll bet it's positively murdering her.

Good.

"Listen, I..." she starts, before trailing off "I want to say that I am so sorry for her – for you. I know you two must be close..." I can feel, almost hear my heart hammering in my chest like a pounding drum. God how can I be so conflicted about this girl?

A week ago, I'd wanted her; I guess some part of me still does, always will. On the other hand... Well, you know... It's shallow, and I know it's my own damn fault as well as hers. But I'm too weak to blame myself, so instead I lump it on her. I rub Serena's thin, pale arm gently, and I almost feel her stir but it's just my imagination. I stop, and I stay stock still as a statue, for the first time in my life completely unsure of what to do.

I feel her arms wrap around my neck and she pulls herself close. I don't react; just let it happen and let my emotions war with each other in silence. She rocks me gently from side to side, and that lone part of me wants nothing more than to turn to her and take her into my arms. But I don't. I just sit there, completely numb to almost everything around me.

"This won't happen again... Not if I can help it... Rhys, I..." she stopped, sounding like she was actually breaking up. I turned my head just so I could see her face out of the corner of my eye. Her snow-white hair was messy, undone, like she'd just woken up – where exactly did this girl sleep again? Mentally I kicked myself; I wasn't supposed to care, not after this fiasco.

"Goddamnit will you just _look at me? _Please?" she really sounds like she blames herself for all this.

Again I think, good. But that same small niggling part of me thinks that it's not so good, and that I need to say something, anything...

I don't. Instead I turn my head towards her, she looks like she's about to break down. Why am I so important? I barely know her, she barely knows me. I can't mean that much to her, or is she really just that kind? No, this is a bad way of thinking, Serena deserved much better than this and she's the cause of it all. She –

– takes my head in her hands and places her lips on mine. It's a perverted kind of passion, fuelled entirely by grief and self-loathing, and suddenly I'm kissing her back, feeling my gut broil and smoulder, and I feel my own self-respect sink even lower. Serena lies in front of me dying, she'd have probably done someone rather grievous harm to be in Sía's position, and here I am having a spontaneous make-out session with the girl who essentially put her there.

She breaks away suddenly, gasping for air, feels like an entire age has passed since she started, I see the corner of her lips rise, but she still looks morose as ever.

"I. Am so. Sorry." She says in between pants "Next time... I swear..." And I feel any sort of respect I had for this girl shatter into nothingness. I stand up suddenly, and I realise unconsciously that I'm shaking. The previously smouldering ashes of my fury explode, and suddenly I want to hurt this girl.

"Next time?" I seethe "Next time?" I'm roaring by now "There's not going to be a fucking next time!" I point to the dying girl on the bed.

"She... She is my best friend. The only friend still alive on this god-forsaken hellhole and _you fucking_ _put her there._ She didn't want to be dragged into this shit! _I _didn't want to be dragged into this shit. If it weren't for you, she'd still be here and in all probability, it'd be _you _in this fucking clinic! And you know what? I probably wouldn't have given a _shit._" She recoils, visibly shocked by my outburst, the niggling part of me protests against my behaviour and I squash it like a bug under my heel.

"You want to save people? You want to form this _amazing _crime fighting gang or whatever the fuck? You take it somewhere fucking else! When she gets better..." I stop in my tracks, I feel my head spin, I sit down, and my voice begins to break when I speak again.

"If she gets better... I don't want to see your face again. You want to be golden girl? You want people out there to love you? You fuck off and stay out of my way... And you... You'd better see me before I see you and you'd better run and hide fast because if I do..." I look up at her, and there are tears running down her perfectly sculpted face.

"... If I do... Then I'll take you, and I'll jump to the top of the fucking skyscraper and I'll fucking drop you right off the edge." My voice is still inconsistent, my fury is quickly giving way to anguish, and my feelings are an absolute mess, but as I let that threat loose, which elicits the slightest gasp from her, I realise that I mean every word I just said. She is less than dirt to me now, and in the bottom of my being I hope she realises that.

She just stands there, stunned, her face is red, her eyes puffy. I draw an unnecessarily deep breath.

"Get _OUT!_" I bellow, clenching my fists so tightly that my filthy nails dig into my skin and draw blood, just so I can stop myself from hitting her.

She's jolted back into reality, and she stumbles back slightly towards the door, she leans against the frame for support and opens her mouth before shutting it. She turns and begins to exit, but swivels around slowly.

"Rhys... I..." she begins, I don't feel like I have the energy or the will to speak any more so I glare, so intently, so fiercely that I feel that she'll burst into flame if I keep it going any longer. She stumbles again and leaves the room. I hear her footsteps fade away into nothingness, as well as her stifled sobs. I put my head in my hands, clutch at my hair and a wail echoes through the entire building – it's mine. All my feelings, my grief, my anger, my wrath, my self-loathing – all of it explodes outwards in a tortured torrent of sound and suddenly I'm spent.

I collapse my head on Serena's bed, hoping I haven't nudged her too much. Docs say that her stitches are still a little iffy, doubly so because some of them are mere improvisations. The city outside flourishes, and no Reapers have been spotted for days, but supply remains a constant problem. Most stores were looted during the immediate aftermath of the blast, and those that weren't found themselves the target of mobs of people desperate for something, anything that could give them even a semblance of normality, be it food, or water, or even sentimental shit like wood carvings or pottery. I saw it happen in the Historic, and I got no doubt that the same didn't happen here and in the Warren too.

I'm exhausted, and I don't feel it when the nurse comes back and takes me outside, propping me up against the wall of the corridor just outside Serena's room. There aren't any beds for me; they're all occupied by the sick and the dying. My vision begins to fade, and soon I'm back in my subconscious, surrounded by visions of the thunderstorm, the raging inferno, and a crying girl who even now makes my heart bleed with her every shaken sob.

**Short chapter, nothing to say, feel baked, g'night.**


	5. The Light at the End of the Tunnel

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Five: Light at the End of the Tunnel**

I drop to my knees.

I'm bloodied, broken, bowed. They're too powerful, too many; and we are too few and far too disorganised. Both of them stand at my shoulder – one feels spurned, the other feels betrayed; and I can answer neither of their feelings. All we can do at this point is die here while the titans clash in the background: the blaze and the thunderstorm. The leader of the group steps towards me, I can't see his face... I can't see any of their faces; but I know that pity lines their features – they didn't want it to come to this either.

He takes my face in his hand and studies my torn lip, my bruises, the flap of skin that hangs from my head, stinging constantly as the wind bats against it. He sighs aloud as Serena expires next to me; the hole in her chest is too wide, half her insides are missing and the remains are spread out across the concrete in a grisly display. Sía dies next; blood pools and spreads around her like a blossoming flower, there's enough to fill a small pond.

He regards the two corpses impassively, though I can see tears streaming down his face. He lowers his head, resting his forehead against mine and sighs again. I've not got long left; already my blood mingles with that of my friends – my loves. They are aren't they? No. Why? Can't be. Why not? Because I don't deserve either of them. A titanic crash splits the air, and I gasp as a sudden, strong gust of wind rocks me, shifting my shattered legs. The thunderstorm rages against the inferno, and it reels from the assault, the group before me – my assorted killers, glance at their leader, who nods slightly and sighs once more.

"I really am truly sorry Rhys..." his voice is soft, heavy with a sense of weary duty "but this is the only way." With that he lets go of my head, letting it drop to the ground and thud against the uncaring concrete sidewalk of a Southern city, and he and his friends stalk towards the titans. They unleash their powers on the storm, which is forced to retreat from the sudden assault. A desperate war begins, and several of the group are obliterated by the lightning, little more than burnt, crisp husks lying on the streets. Within the space of a minute half of them are dead, and I hope that the storm will yet live.

Unfortunately the value of the distraction is not lost on the blaze, which reaches out suddenly, releasing a dazzling, brilliant flame which catches the storm in its midsection, blowing it back. It's not quite defeated yet, and it launches a thunderbolt in defiance back at the blaze. The act doesn't even cause it to flinch, and it instead punches into the storm, plucking out its heart. The storm dies just like that. No display of pyrotechnics, no sad choir in the background, it just collapses. The blaze suddenly explodes; I'm blinded and all I feel is the searing heat as everything around me melts away and –

– I wake up.

Serena lies next to me, still clothed. I try not to think about how nice it feels to have her snuggling close to me and exit the covers. She's been sneaking into my bed more and more often lately though with her stitches she really shouldn't. She's asked me once about Sía; I didn't answer. She's not coming back into our lives, not ever, despite what my head seems to think. I drove her away, and while a part of me reviles myself for the manner in which I did so, I think I made the right call. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be, especially not here of all places.

I lumber into the bathroom, dog tired. It's still dark out, which means it's probably only two in the morning or something. I take a cold cloth and soak it with cold water before wiping myself with it. I shiver, but I'm grateful for the chill it provides despite the already cool temperature outside, the dreams sometimes leave me with a fever-like temperature. I'm having them more and more frequently as time has passed, it's been a whole two weeks since the incident, and Serena's still far from patched up (like me, she's had to be turfed out to make room for more critically injured patients). She doesn't appear to mind much, and I'm damn sure she's enjoying all this attention she's been receiving from me to help her recover.

Whatever; it's just her and I against this crazy city again, just like it was at the start.

I say crazy, but actually things have gotten a lot quieter as the days have gone by. MacGrath's apparently been going around the islands cleaning house, and if what I'm hearing it true then the Reapers are all but wiped out, with the Dustmen soon to be joining them on the endangered list. The First Sons however seem to be proving more difficult, and I've been hearing gunfire all over the place from time to time; hell there was a bomb scare not two days ago – a whole building brought down. As far as I'm aware the only casualty was a nurse, though people were saying that there were some doctors strung up on another building, and MacGrath got them down at the cost of the nurse's life. It doesn't make much sense to me – a nurse for seven doctors? Get real. Those guys may be undersupplied and making do with bloody rags in some parts but theirs is the only trade that really matters here now – either that or gang control.

Of course MacGrath's still a touchy subject for us; on the one hand he single-handedly caused the decimation of an entire city on his ownsome. On the other, he's trying to fix the gangs. Is that evidence of a guilty conscience? Or did he really not do it? I think back to the crater. No, he definitely had something to do with it. Or was he like the rest of us conduits at the start – unable to control his powers and accidentally unleashing them in some horrible, unforeseen manner? I doubt it. Serena seems to think so too. Come the first day we discovered these gifts I could barely jump more than a metre without collapsing from exhaustion, and Serena had trouble lifting even a pen. Is he different to the rest of us somehow? Like a– an alpha conduit or something? So many questions only he can answer...

Which of course makes it all the more frustrating that I can't find him, especially seeing as how I'm still too banged up to make more than a few jumps without feeling like my insides are about to rupture. Each time I hear gunfire I'm too late to the scene and he's already gone, leaving a pile of fried corpses in his wake. I'm still terrified of actually meeting him, for starters what am I gonna say? What am I gonna do? Will I attack him as soon as I see him or will I just sit there nodding politely as he tells me what exactly happened to cause all this.

I shake my head, all the thoughts are making my head hurt. Another gun-shot; and a collection of screams follow immediately. Someone's gotten up early. I hear a rustle of movement from the bedroom and Serena stumbles in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. I casually flick my gaze away from her bare legs; I'm still not sure if she's even wearing underwear or not, she's wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt, with the logo of some obscure band across the cover.

"What time is it?" she asks tiredly and yawns, stretching. Her shirt lifts but I'm not looking, having suddenly found the bathroom mirror very interesting all of a sudden. Her short, auburn hair is tousled from sleep, and it gives her even more allure than I've cared to notice before. I wonder if she had any admirers in her year group. Probably. As far back as I can recall she's always been pretty easy to approach, and even when she started with the gang, her circle of friends never suffered once.

Thinking about it makes me think about what might have happened if this whole thing had never happened. Would I have met Sía? Would we have stopped and chatted in the street, gone for a coffee or hung out somewhere and got to know each other? Or just passed each other in the streets, mutually admiring the other from afar, but not bothering with the effort of getting to know the other. Would she even have been interested or was it just the fact we both have Conduit powers? Why am I even bothering thinking about this girl? I just drove her away – and with good reason too. Which brings my trail of thinking back to my drowsy friend. Would we have grown up together as friends? Would she have told me about her crush some time? Would I have responded to those feelings or left them stagnate as I chased another girl?

"Hey! Rhys, talking to you here." Her voice is cracked; it's too damned early to be awake.

"Time to get back to bed, especially with your stitches. Docs said that it'd take a while remember?" I reply, my voice similarly broken with fatigue.

"That hardly seems fair; I'll be all on my own in here." She huffs in mock irritation.

"I never said it was time for me to be up either. Haven't you looked outside?" I ask. She blinks, as if just noticing. I splash a little more water on my face – it's gotten strangely warm all of a sudden. She mutters something under her breath before trudging back. I hear her flump onto the bed and sigh to herself.

I take a glass and fill it up with cold water before downing it in two massive gulps. My throat instantly feels better and my tongue feels less like sandpaper – funny how you never notice these sorts of things until they're gone. I take another drink then turn the light off before moving back to my bed. Serena's draped herself all over it, lying in a rather provocative position, though that just could be the dark and my night vision playing tricks on me. I roll her over roughly and she releases a grunt of disapproval.

"Belt up. Quiet now." I mumble as I lie next to her, then messily tuck her in as an afterthought, then try to think about something that doesn't make me feel like absolute crap.

I wake up about eight hours later and continue my search after eating a breakfast consisting of more lovely canned food. I turn up nothing again, or at least I think until Serena contacts me suddenly over my phone telling me that there's an almighty ruckus coming from ground zero. I'm tired from running and I'm at a completely opposite end of the island but I think I can make it if I jump quick enough. I steel myself and this time I'm determined to get there, and damn the consequences.

I jump so quickly I end up accidentally shooting through a derelict office building, scattering desks and stationary all over the place as I land awkwardly. Pain flares up in my ribs and I almost collapse, but then I hear it – no, I _see _it. The crater is lit up by an unnatural light show, and I know that it's gotta be MacGrath, and he's duelling someone – a Conduit most likely, maybe one of the gang leaders, I've been hearing that each of these gangs were led by someone displaying freaky powers. I pick myself up and jump one last time.

I'm too high.

I reappear a good ten metres above ground; I'm exhausted and my head feels like it's going to explode. I catch a glimpse of two figures duelling in the crater, one's undoubtedly MacGrath, I've got no idea who the guy in the hood with the strange arm is. I focus my remaining energy on one last jump, bringing me closer to the ground to deaden my fall, but it's still too high and I think I hear my ribs crack as I hit the concrete. My strength finally leaves me and before I feel consciousness begin to escape me, I get a glimpse of one last glorious sight... a storm, an almighty thunderstorm that strikes the hooded man... and my dream finally makes sense.

There's a strange sense of contentment as I drift off, like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I wake up in the middle of the night, the place is deserted, and silence once more reigns. I get to my feet; I'm shaking like a leaf in a breeze and I feel like my body's supported by twigs but I continue on – who knows what'll happen if a group of those First Sons come across me in the middle of the night, particularly here of all places.

Miraculously I manage to stumble back home and Serena helps me up the stairs, fretting that I've been out for almost three days. Damn. I must've been really weak. I'm grateful for her assistance though –I honestly doubt I could actually make it up there without some form of assistance. I fall back onto the bed minutes later, completely exhausted. Serena's feeling better and she's in the bathroom re-dying her hair; when she finally exits I can't help but stare. It's a strange shade of grey... no, _silver _that almost seems to glitter in the light, a crimson blaize streaks through almost like a bolt of lightning – '_just like at ground zero'_. She notices me staring and bares her teeth in a grin that looks like a cross between predatory and amused.

"See something you like?" do I detect a hint of hope in that tone of hers? I shake my head.

"Just surprised. It's an... unusual choice of colours." It's the truth: it is unusual; but I'm more interested in where she got them than anything else.

"What? Unusual how? Bad? Good?" she asks impertinently. She's definitely getting better, though she should still take it easier.

"Unusual as in unusual. Jesus Serena check a dictionary sometime, who knows you might just learn something."

"This comes from a high-school dropout." She snickers in response. I don't rise to her bait, I simply chuckle softly and shut my eyes, feeling like I could sleep an entire year away. Blissful silence reigns until I feel Serena plop herself on the edge of my bed. I can tell she's got a question hanging on her lips. I sigh, not opening my eyes.

"What is it?" I ask, I'm trying not to sound too irritated at being kept awake. I think she pauses, then mumbles something unintelligible.

"What?"

"What do you think of me?" she asks timidly. I struggle to put the two together – timid and Serena most definitely do not mix together. But then there's the question itself, I consider what might have brought this up now. Unable to think of anything at the moment I answer as honestly as I can.

"I think you're one of the bravest people I know. I think you're someone I've known since both of us could learn to walk. I think you're one of my best friends... one of my only friends." I feel her stiffen ever so slightly. She doesn't say anything though so I continue.

"I think of you as I always have – and you know it. So... why don't you tell me why you're asking me this now." I'm curious, sleep can wait, but she doesn't answer. I think I hear her struggle with her words, opening her mouth and making some soft, strangulated sounds as if she cuts herself off just before she can say something. I have a sinking feeling I know what's coming, I just hope I'm wro–

"Never mind. Stupid question... I'll wake you up for breakfast tomorrow morning okay?" she says.

"Hey! You still got those stitches to worry about. Just give me a prod – I'll fix us the morning grub." I tell her, though I know she's not going to listen.

I drift off soon after she turns the lights out. Silver and bleach blonde haunt my dreams tonight, and I'm not entirely sure whether or not this is better than the visions – for I'm now convinced that they are.

I twist and turn until morning arrives, where I'm greeted by the scent of burning beef – more specifically burning _tinned _beef, which is actually even more disgusting than the regular kind. There's no cereal or milk or bread – we either ate our way through it or it moulded away weeks ago. The canned stuff is all that's here, the only thing that'll keep in this husk that used to be a city.

The T.V. flickers and sparks into life suddenly a dishevelled, dirty man in a police officers uniform fills the screen, both of our eyes stare in rapt attention – there's been next to no broadcasts even since the power came back in the Historic District, either reruns on the few lucky enough to still have a working satellite dish or people playing videos and DVDs.

"Um. Hello. I'm Chief Ian Grimes of the Empire City Police Department. We–" Serena flips the TV off, leaving the screen dark. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"What? It was probably gonna be one of those 'we're back on the streets, gangs are busted up, you're all gonna be fine' speeches again." She said, her tone one of boredom that can only come from having seen many of these herself. I thought back to my fall, and rub my ribs subconsciously – how aren't they broken? And what exactly changed in the last three days? Serena must have seen the confusion on my face because she suddenly spoke up again.

"There was a broadcast yesterday from the cops saying that the gangs are pretty much annihilated or something and that it was all thanks to MacGrath. Apparently there's still a few gangers left around each island but they're being hunted." She took a spoonful of beef, making a face when it touched her tongue "at least... that's what they say."

We sit in silence for a few moments; I'm lost for a moment. The gangs have been such a constant in the last few weeks that it's almost as impossible to imagine life without them as it was to imagine it _with _them before the blast. I force down another spoonful of burnt beef and pause for a moment.

"We're still going to find MacGrath right?" Serena asks suddenly. I nod.

"Of course; that much hasn't changed, and cause his big hero act's suddenly got nowhere to go now the gangs are supposedly all gone now that means he'll be much easier to hunt now right? We just gotta narrow it down and bam. We'll have him." I explain. It makes sense: if there're no gangs to hunt, he'll surely stay in the one place right? All we'll need to do is ask around and we'll turn him up sooner or later, with the quarantine still in effect I sincerely doubt he'll be going anywhere.

Serena lets a relieved breath loose.

"Good. It feels like we've been at this for months... we're finally seeing the end of the tunnel." She leans back against the wall.

"Yeah, but we're not quite there yet." A thought then occurs to me "We're also running out of food. I gotta go scrounge some more." Serena turns to me, her concern plain to see.

"Can you manage that now?" she asks. I nod in grim affirmation. Stealing has never been much of a pleasure to me but needs must, and when stocks from hoarders seem to be getting a mite too low I just search for another. Generally they hide their stashes in pretty unimaginative places if not in their homes under lock and key – not that those have been much of an issue for me since I gained control of my abilities.

I swallow the last of the beef and wash it all down with a drink of water. Then with a quick see you later to Serena I'm out the door and on the streets. While the gangs no longer seem to be an issue; we've still got a long way to go before this city can pick itself up from the blows it's been dealt, though a niggling voice in the back of my skull whispers that there's still much more to come.

Dear god I hope it's wrong.

**Aaaand timeskiiiiiiiiip.**


	6. Introductions

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Six: Introductions**

I walk on despite feeling like I could drop dead any second now. Serena stumbles and both of us almost tumble to the ground in the middle of this ruin but I brace myself in time and catch the both of us. She too looks like death warmed up, though considering what we managed to escape from I suppose I should be thankful we're even in this sorry state.

It was a crazy couple of weeks; first we hear about a bunch of new conduits in town and then the leaders of the Reapers and Dustmen gangs turn up alive and start recruiting (and by that I mean abducting) new recruits. We'd barely recovered from our wounds when all of a sudden this boat off the coast just exploded, lighting up pretty much everything near it. Rumours had said it was a Reaper or Dustmen hideout so naturally we assumed MacGrath had something to do with it. He wasn't there when we arrived of course but several fire trucks and numerous police officers were, including a helicopter – though it ran off pretty quick when enough people began to take more notice of it.

A few days later came destruction.

It happened like something from a nightmare. A blazing flash, then a deafening boom; the screams of the dying as they were obliterated by the strange power or crushed by falling debris. If I had to guess I'd say that hundreds had died in the opening of its coming alone. I don't even want to think about how many more are dead now.

It looked human, but anything else that could have tied it to us as a species ended there. It wasn't just the fact it stood taller than some apartment blocks, or that it looked like it was made entirely of molten lava. It was the destructive power it possessed that made this beast truly terrifying. I'd never seen anything like it. I don't think even the Empire City blast had been anything like this. Without even considering anyone or anything else I'd taken Serena and I'd jumped as far away from Empire City as I could – quarantine be damned. She'd screamed at first but by the time we finally reached the shoreline she quietened down; and good thing too because I collapsed almost as soon as we hit dirt and Serena carried me off the beach as Empire City burned behind us.

That was two days ago.

The creature that destroyed our home continued on; laying waste to everything in its path, but we didn't see this happen. As soon as the next day had arrived I'd wanted to check the quarantine line – I was certain that my parents and my little sister had been there during the quarantine and that they were either there or they'd moved before the creature had broken out. Serena was less hopeful, I didn't much care for her opinion on the matter though.

The line was a charnel house. Destroyed tanks and other army vehicles littered the ground, along with broken, charred corpses of soldiers, media personnel and the occasional passer-by or camper, probably relatives or friends of those lost in Empire City. How many had died here?

We searched – or rather _I _searched. Serena was overwhelmed by the sight of so much death and destruction and threw up shortly after our arrival. She waited on the edge, leaving me the grisly task of going through the bodies and checking the odd campsite for any clues as to my family's whereabouts, or just something to keep us both going. It took the better part of the day but eventually I struck gold. A shredded green tent I recognised from an old camping trip in happier times. At first I feared I would find a similar horror to the rest of the quarantine line; however the tent was unoccupied, though several items looked as though they'd been knocked around as if they'd been in a hurry. A hastily scrawled message pointed me us in the direction of New Marais where my parents and my sister would be staying with an old friend. We started off as soon as we scrounged up as much food as we could – though we barely filled half of the backpack with what we'd found.

We'd been walking for a few days now, our food had long since dwindled to nothing and we'd been reluctant to try the nuts and berries in the forest for fear they might be poisonous. I'd tried to jump ahead with the both of us as much as I could but shortly into the second day I'd had a wracking fit, and I'd coughed up what seemed like a whole pint of blood and vomit. I'd had to walk with support from Serena ever since.

"I have to pee." She said suddenly as we crested a hill, a river flowed close by – at least we'd not need to worry about water. I sighed and nodded, indicating that she should put my down. She set me up against a tree and stumbled tiredly off into the bushes to do her business. I gazed in the wilderness around me, lush greenery everywhere, just the chirping of birds and wildlife. It was almost idyllic. I cast my gaze on the river, the crystal water flowed quickly and I felt an overwhelming urge to hop in and just immerse myself in the cool liquid. Hell I don't think I'd even care if I just drifted, letting the current take me wherever it saw fit.

Then the bodies came.

I thought it was just a bit of flotsam or jetsam or whatever, just passing by. Then came another – this one unmistakably human, I realised this only because of the mane of red hair that hung slack over the dead girl's head, soaked through entirely. More followed soon and eventually I turned my head, unwilling to look any longer. They'd probably come from Empire City. We'd seen more than a few bodies float down various streams and rivers, and apparently the coastline was chock full of them with whatever destroyed Empire City rampaging down south.

I really hoped it would stop before reaching New Marais, or failing that I hoped that I could at least get in touch with my folks before it hit town and reduced it to rubble. At this point though either possibility seemed extremely unlikely. I clenched my fists and cursed my own weakness as I hacked and hawked up another glob of bloody phlegm.

"Stupid, stupid, weak, weak." I muttered to myself under my breath, wallowing in self-loathing.

"We could be at New Marais or halfway there by now but you can't take it. You can't even take jumping two feet now can you? Weak. So weak." I felt my nails dig into my skin, stabbing pain shot through my hands but I kept pressing on, cutting deeper and deeper until I heard footsteps.

"Sorry I took so long." Serena sounded morose. She'd probably seen the bodies.

"Don't worry about it." I replied and took her hands, hoping she didn't notice the blood that began to flow. If she did she gave no sign of it, and with that, the two of us continued on.

–

I felt strange. Like I was floating on a wave of velvet, I reached out to touch it but felt nothing but air. My sense began to return and I realised I was alone. I called out for Serena but nothing answered, merely the echo of my voice which grew gradually more distorted until it sounded like some abominable freak had tried formulating the strangled words. I blinked and saw that I was strapped to a table, three men in labcoats stood over me with various instruments; one held a buzzing saw which travelled gradually towards my stomach.

I struggled but my bindings were too tight; the saw drew closer. I tried yelling for help but one of them placed a gag over my mouth as another prepared a needle. The last one held my head down and forced my eye open. I watched in terror as the needle came ever closer to my open eye. The saw sliced open my skin and delved deeper into my body and my world exploded in waves of red and white.

I awoke in an attic, or what remained of one. It looked like a bombshell had struck it, gouging a great hole in the roof where freezing rain lashed through. I rubbed my eyes and found that there was no discomfort, no irritation, nothing. I sat up fully and found I did not cough or sputter. I climbed steadily to my feet – wary of the low ceiling and stood up as tall as I could. Still no pain.

I pondered a few risks in my head before I looked to the end of the room and jumped.

I landed and braced for a wave of nausea and coughing fits but nothing came. I was fine. I was _fine!_ I whooped and punched the air in jubilation – succeeding in crunching my fist into a wooden beam. I snatched the hand back, sucking on the point of impact and hissing to myself. I didn't understand it but I felt absolutely fantastic – better than I had felt in days. Hell I felt at that moment I could take on an army with both hands behind my back.

"Ah you're awake." A voice chimed from behind me.

My gaze fell upon a tall looking man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He had short, black, clean hair and confident blue eyes. A scar traced his jawline and extended up to the left side of his scalp. The word I would have used to describe his face would be 'cultured', even in his scruffy jeans and dark brown hooded jacket. He looked like he'd fit the 'suit' look to a T and I wondered if he was a model. A young girl – probably about Serena's age – stood behind him, her platinum hair immediately eye-catching, though her dress – a brilliant sky blue, would probably have marked her out sooner or later and spoke of a wealthy upbringing. Her ears were a little on the large side and a mole marked her chin but otherwise I thought she looked fine. The girl averted her eyes and lowered them to my left, I turned and found Serena lying on a mattress next to the one I'd woken up on.

"Don't worry she's fine. Both of you are, thanks to Alison here." He ruffled the hair of the girl, who drew back a little but smiled lightly.

"What, does she know First Aid or something?" I asked. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"First Aid wouldn't have been nearly enough to save the both of you. No, Alison has a particular gift. She'll show you now." He turned to his companion "Won't you?" The girl looked at him for a moment, then at me, then at Serena lying unconscious and nodded.

She stepped cautiously over to me and uncurled a hand. She began muttering words under her breath and all of a sudden something came into existence above her outstretched palm. It looked almost like a miniature sun. Alison finished speaking and thrust her palm into my chest. I was caught entirely by surprise and stumbled back, clutching and clawing at the spot where that strange phenomenon had entered my body.

"What the fuck did you do?" I asked, panic rising. Alison stepped back and sighed.

"Calm down." She said, her voice tired and cracked "It won't harm you."

No sooner had she said that, I felt something coursing through me. I felt fit, I felt alive, I felt more energised than I had before I woke up. I felt like I was on some sort of sugar high and bounced on my feet to burn it off. When the sensation finally disappeared I ceased my brain-dead movements and checked myself over to make sure my skin hadn't turned green or anything. Nothing.

"That is pretty..." I started, but couldn't finish.

"I know." Said the man, a grin split his face "You should have seen the others when she showed them."

"Others?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There are a few more of us downstairs, we were going to wait for you to wake up and see if you wanted to come with us." The man said plainly.

"Come with you where?"

"To New Marais." My heart jumped momentarily but I reigned in my feelings. These guys could be nothing but a bunch of crooks looking to take advantage of the chaos. But if that was the case then why bother patching me and Serena up? No. I couldn't jump to wild conclusions.

Besides, some extra company on the journey would be nice.

"Um. Yeah that'd be great. We were heading there anyway." Why exactly though I think I'd keep to myself. The answer though appeared to delight the young man.

"Excellent. Oh I'm so sorry, I think with all that's been going on I've forgotten my manners." He said, extending a hand "My name's Elias, Elias Shirayuki. I'll introduce the others to you later."

I took the offered hand and shook "Rhys Winters." I told him, then jerked a head to Serena "Her name's Serena Williams" I noticed Alison tilt her head and peer at my friend, I couldn't be sure but it looked like she was a little red in the face. Interesting...

We released each other and I glanced over Elias.

"Shirayuki?" I let the question hang. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Fourth Generation Japanese-American; dad's side." He explained and I nodded. Behind me Serena began to stir. She mumbled something and then opened her eyes and spent a few moments realising that she was inside a building before settling her gaze on me and the two strangers.

"Don't panic Serena." I began, holding up my hands in a calming gesture "They're cool."

She cast wary looks at the two but rose to her feet and took a place to my right.

"Alright... What's going on then?" she asked, still tense. Elias gave me an appraising look and I turned to my friend.

"Basically these guys dragged us out of wherever it is we passed out and gave us some help. They're the reason we're still breathing now." She relaxed a little but she was still coiled tight and ready to spring.

"Please, calm down." Elias spoke finally, his silky voice promising nothing but safety "If we wanted to harm you and your..." he regarded me curiously "boyfriend?" Alison seemed to deflate a little; her eyes were still on Serena.

_I wonder..._

"Friend." I corrected "My best friend, and probably the only one still packing a pulse." I added. Elias' features fell.

"I'm sorry. I've lost a great many friends in the last few days as well. But I've also gained some new ones, who I think you can now meet seeing how you're both up and running. Come on, they're all down here." He waved us forwards and descended down the staircase; Alison cast another glance at the both of us – lingering slightly longer on Serena – before following him.

"We'll talk after this." I whispered to Serena, who nodded and followed me down.

Five more people sat at a table, eating what I'd guessed was stuff they'd scrounged from the area. Some bread, a can of beans, tinned beef (bleugh!), a couple of candy bars and a packet of cereal. I noticed that one of them sat on a chair in the corner of the room, looking dazed and not entirely all-there.

"My friends!" Elias called to them grandiosely. I began to think maybe my earlier assessment was wrong, and that this man was probably the son of a politician.

"Our guests have woken up. Please welcome them as you did each other, they will be joining us in our journey to New Marais." A chorus of grunting affirmatives echoed through the dining room, Elias rubbed the back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry, like me – and yourselves – we've all been through a pretty rough time. They'll warm up to you as we all get to know each other though, don't worry." With that he began introductions.

"That there is Daniel Turnball, though he prefers Danny." He pointed out a youth not much older than me in a dark pullover and faded grey cargo pants. Stubble decorated his chin and his hair was sandy blonde. He seemed pretty scrawny... and pretty miserable too.

"He's Zack Sobers, don't let his appearance scare you. Though you might want to watch what you say around Alison when he's around. He's very protective of her; she saved his life you see." From what exactly he didn't say, and his words didn't have the effect they intended. The guy looked like someone you'd see at a Neo Nazi rally; tattoos covered his shaven head and probably ran along his entire body looking at his hands. A jagged, winding scar ran from the top of his forehead to the right-hand corner of his lip, cutting across the eye. His eyes were such dark blue I thought for a moment that he had no irises, and he gave me a predator's grin, displaying pearly white teeth. I just suppressed a shiver which Elias must have noticed because he gave Zack a stern glare. Zack's grin disappeared and he turned his attention back to his food.

"That lovely girl is... well we don't actually know but we call her Katrina." Elias motioned towards another young girl – I'd guess somewhere between fifteen and seventeen. Her hair was as white as snow and she had a faraway look that told me she'd been through too much. She caught my gaze and gave me a shy smile and made some strange gestures with her hands.

"She can't speak I'm afraid, perchance do any of you know sign language?" Elias asked us. Both of us shook our heads and Elias sighed.

"A pity. As of now it's only Evan who can actually speak to her – that's the big guy over there." Big was certainly true, he was definitely taller than Elias, who was pretty big himself. Evan's face was hidden by a cowl and hood; I caught sight of chocolate coloured hands opening the wrapper on a chocolate bar; one of which was horribly scarred. He moved slowly, purposefully though I had little doubt that he could be on us in a second if we angered him.

"I know what you're probably thinking and you couldn't be more wrong. Evan's got a heart of gold – wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it. Probably comes from being a guardian at fifteen, he says he took care of his little sister – who, like Katrina, couldn't speak when their parents died in an accident. Tragic stuff of course and I won't sully your ears with the tale." He said before he pointed out another woman.

"Her name's Olivia Wilde. Word of advice; make sure you're never alone with her. I've never known such a hedonist in all my life." He paused "Though that doesn't stop Zack..." he added quietly. Olivia had short; mahogany-brown hair that came a little longer than Serena's did, falling just below her neckline. She saw me looking her over and winked suggestively. I almost did a double-take; her eyes weren't natural, they looked like a lizard's.

"Contacts." Stated Elias as he observed my reaction "The girl has a thing for dragons and she gets in such a state when someone calls them 'lizard eyes'. So I think it's best that you keep that comment to yourself hm?" He suggested.

"Who's he? And what's his story?" Serena asked, motioning to the dopey youth in the corner. Elias frowned as he settled his gaze upon the guy.

"His name's Juriaan Blanke, a Dutch student. If you'd please just leave him to me... He's rather unsettled. From what his screams indicate whenever he has a bad dream – and they are all bad – he watched his father die in front of him, as well as a few of his closest friends. He couldn't take it, so now he's convinced himself that he's living in a dream world. As I said; please leave him to me."

_No argument there friend. _From the looks of it Serena thought exactly the same.

Supper passed slowly and awkwardly as me and Serena introduced ourselves and took a meal of our own. I took a can of corn (no way in hell was I eating any more tinned beef) and a yogurt pot. Serena had a few slices of bread and some cheese. Eventually we all retired for the night, each of Elias' group taking different rooms in the abandoned house. Me and Serena went back into the attic, ignoring sounds of activity that probably came from two psychos below.

"Friendly bunch." Serena remarked dryly. I didn't argue.

"We feel better; I'm all for leaving now. Sneak down in the night when they all fall asleep, take some food and water and we high tail it before daybreak. You can jump now can't you?" I nodded, continuing my period of silence.

"Yeah. Yeah probably right. Elias and that Alison girl I could probably take. Everyone else looks like they could go off at any second." I agreed finally.

"We'll give it a couple of hours, then we'll get some stuff and head out... But which way?" I wondered aloud.

"We'll find a map somewhere. I saw a compass down there too; we'll take that with us."

"Right. Good thinking." I sighed and leaned back on my mattress "Now all we need is a way to pass a couple of hours while everyone else goes to sleep." I muttered aloud as I shut my eyes. I heard ruffling on Serena's mattress but paid it no heed – she was probably just getting comfortable.

Then she straddled me, and I awoke to find her somewhat lacking in the clothing department. I tried to tear my gaze away from her developing body (and a certain part of me reacted very happily to the sight) and to her face. This was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Serena this is a ba–" She cut me off as she crashed her lips into mine and probed my mouth with her tongue. I fought the urge to give into my increasing desire for the only constant I had in my life but goddamnit it was a losing battle. I tried to remind myself; to force into my thick, boy skull that whatever I had with Serena would be ruined beyond repair if this continued. I willed my arms to grip her and throw her off me but instead they wrapped around her and brought me closer. I felt her breasts mash against my chest and heard her barely stifle a moan as she broke away from my lips before bringing them right back.

_She's never even had a boyfriend before, how can it be affecting me this much?_ The answer came depressingly easily and I felt my reality shatter as I realised that deep within me I wanted this more than anything. Serena deepened her kiss and as the two of us began shedding our clothing and before long our bodies moved on their own while I wallowed in a river of self-hatred stronger than anything I'd felt before.

–

**Another Chapter done now I've got no more assignments (until Feb anyway) oh happy days. Belated happy New Year and Merry Christmas to all you folks reading and I hope the holidays were good to you. As always a thanks for reading and a bigger thanks to those kind enough to leave a review, in particular those who tell me exactly where I'm going wrong and how I can improve in order to make this more enjoyable to read**


	7. Arrival

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Seven: Arrival**

The act of thievery was much easier than I anticipated it would be.

What came before that: not so much.

I'd slept with my best friend. My only friend in this crazy world. I'd done it willingly and now I was blowing her off; I'm pretty certain there's a special kind of hell for people like me.

Did she deserve the cold shoulder I'd given her after we were finished? I don't know, and the mere fact that I can't decide is the worst thing.

I couldn't find it in myself to hate her; lord knows I barely had enough to spare because so much of it was turned on myself. I loathed my weakness, the fact that I'd been all but useless for the last few days when our lives depended on it the most – it was sheer dumb luck that we'd stumbled across the creepy gang slumbering below us. I loathed my pathetic desires that had led me succumbing to Serena's oh-so-successful advance. I could easily blame that on instinct but that would be the coward thing to do.

She hadn't so much as whispered since we put our escape plan into action – and for a brutal moment, I had actually considered leaving without her – and stayed silent even as we made a beeline for New Marais. Her eyes were vacant, like she had spaced out, placing an imaginary wall between herself and the outside world. It worried me; because she was never like that, and gladdened me, because it would give me time to think over what she – what _we_ had done.

We made it to the city outskirts in less than half a day.

I don't know what that girl had done to me, but if I ever saw her again... hoo boy I'd ask for another one of those. Even in my prime in Empire I'd never been able to perform more than a handful of long-distance jumps across the city before the cramps kicked in. Now here I was travelling cross-country and I was barely even breaking a sweat. I felt like whooping. Then I remembered the familiar weight on my back and my good humour disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate Serena. Far from. Hell I'd known about her crush for a good five years now but I'd always assumed it'd always be one of those things she'd eventually grow out of in time. Well here we were. Both of us had superpowers and we'd –

Jesus _Christ_ we hadn't even used protection. I chided myself for the thought almost immediately as it sprung – I wanted to get away from these thoughts about her. She had been like family to me for years. You do _not _sleep with your family. Great, now I was even more depressed.

Not for long though; the outline of New Marais was in view now. My family (what was left of it I soberly reminded myself) was waiting for me there. Perhaps it was mere juvenile fantastical thinking but for a moment, I believed that once I found them – my mother, my father and my little sister – that everything would be fine again. Like we'd go back to living how we had before the Empire City disaster.

And here I thought I'd had to grow up.

Naturally these pathetically naive thoughts were thrown out of my head almost as soon as I'd conjured them up. Despite it all, I did feel that the situation would improve immeasurably when we met up, which proved earlier than I anticipated.

I dropped us just shy of the bridge to flood-town, the bridge looked in as sorry a state as I'd seen on the news channels with copters all hovering over the coastline after the hurricane like moths over a candle flame. The city looked almost like it did then; people wandering around, some looking pretty dirty, others not-so-dirty, all looked miserable – or wary. It didn't take long to find out why.

A dishevelled looking young girl stumbled out of a back-alley. She couldn't have been older than twelve years old – about a year older than Julie I thought to myself. Several passersby stopped and stared for a moment before a burly looking man wearing a hockey mask and sporting a rather large gun appeared from the same direction, following after her slowly, deliberately. The girl turned to him and puffed up her chest, appearing defiant, confident. The freak laughed.

"You think being out here's gonna save you kid?" The word that sprung to mind instantly was 'hick'. Good lord he couldn't be more of a stereotype if he was –

"You think being in view of these yellow-bellied Jew-loving faggots is gonna save you from what's comin'?" I take that back.

The girl took a cautious, nervous step away from him. The redneck chuckled and took a slow step forwards.

"C'mon kid. Don't wanna make a scene in front of the nice people here. Especially not considering all I got in store for _you_." I certainly didn't like the leering gaze in his eyes through the mask. Hell I could almost picture him licking his lips.

Disgusting.

But as I watched, I saw the people around me gazing at the scene with an equal mix of similar disgust, pity for the girl, and a repressed sadness. Who or what the hell was this guy that had people so afraid when usually in this sort of situation someone would be – at the least – calling the cops.

She took another step back and looked like she was about to bolt but the masked redneck brought his gun up.

"I'm warning you sweetheart I don't much care whether they can move or not. I don't mean to brag but I could hit your spine as easily as I could hit your feet – though shit, if they ain't squirmin it ain't much fun." Serena and I listened on, sheer horror written all over our faces. The hick must've noticed it because he cast an eye on us, paying particular attention to Serena.

"Not bad. That your slack-jawed twig of a boyfriend next to you sweetie?" he asked Serena, who simply stared for a moment before shaking her head to try and take in everything she was hearing. The hick must've assumed she was answering his question because he chuckled before speaking again.

"Well you just sit your pretty little behind right there hun and I'll get right back to you." Serena's face hardened and I saw her purse her lips and grind her teeth in silent outrage.

The girl too had turned to look at us, wondering who the two unfortunates who also caught his attention might be. She froze however upon catching their faces – both appeared to be older than they were last time, but she recognised the faces she'd grown up with all her life.

"Rhys... Serena..." she whispered as I stared right back at the girl, my shock all too clear.

She'd cut her hair short in an imitation of her role model, and dyed it an absurd looking purple. A piercing – a _piercing_ – decorated her right earlobe, and her clothes were strongly goth/punk – which I knew for a fact came from overexposure to the aforementioned role model's taste in music. Her face though was unmistakable. A cute little button nose that me and my brothers tapped to get her attention whenever she threw a tantrum. Large hazel eyes – not unlike Tommy's – which punctuated her pixie features.

Julie Winters.

My little sister.

The hick stopped for a moment and glanced at the two of us, then back to Julie.

"What, now you're saying you all know each other or something?" he cocked his head curiously, but kept the rifle up.

I barely heard him. A seething rage was coursing through my veins. This sicko, this country hick from God-only-knows-where-in-the-swamps was tailing my sister, threatening to shoot her, and then...

I didn't know I'd hit him – or that I'd jumped, revealing my powers in front of every onlooker standing in the street – until my eyes registered that I was now suddenly behind him, and that Serena and Julie were much further in front of me than they had been. He stayed on the ground for a moment, quite unable to process what had happened. Then he looked at me, then glanced back in Julie and Serena's direction, then back to me. Suddenly all confusion in his eyes disappeared; and he uttered a word with so much loathing and hatred that it disarmed me.

"_Freak!_"

He roared with fury and was on his feet in seconds. Before I could even comprehend what was going on he had barrelled me into the side of a building, knocking the air from my lungs. He clutched my neck in one meaty paw and drew back his free hand, his gun lying forgotten on the street. The blow caused me to black out for a moment – and if it hadn't been for the temporary enhancement I got whenever I jumped, I probably would have lost consciousness entirely – but by the time I refocused his fist hammered into my face again and I'd swear I felt bone crack.

"Stop it." Serena came to my rescue, she had the hick's gun and it was pointed directly at his back. He paused, then chuckled.

"Or what girly? You gonna shoot me? You gonna shoot me for this freak here? You a freak-fucker? That it?" Serena ground her teeth and prodded him with the gun.

"I mean it! Stop hitting him or I'll blow your back out!" she threatened. The hick was strangely unafraid, shit if I didn't know any better – and in my woozy state I really didn't – I could swear there was a grin in his crazy eyes.

"You know something girly, that rifle fires awful big bullets. One at this range'll go straight through me and the freak. You really wanna do that?" he sneered.

"Besides..." he added, almost as an afterthought "the safety catch is on."

The moment of hesitation was all the guy needed – _damn _he was fast. Dropping me, he whirled around and brought his knee into Serena's midriff, winding her. The gun clattered to the floor as Serena wheezed and gasped for air next to it, curled up into a ball. The masked redneck casually stooped over and picked up the gun before checking it and levelling it one-handed at my head.

"Don't worry kid." He said mockingly as I stared into the barrel "I'll take _good _care of your two freak-loving friends here." No sooner had he said that before an image flashed into my head, an image that – in hindsight – I really could have done without. At that moment though, it spurred me on. I ignored the fact that my jaw was trailing blood and that it might be broken, that my entire face felt like it had gone through a blender. I focused on that horrifying mental image that – if I failed, would most certainly become a certainty, and I rejected it entirely.

Fuck that. Fuck _THAT!_

I didn't even know I'd bellowed it out, all I cared to know was that the guy had paused for a crucial second, blinking his eyes in surprise.

I jumped –

I was behind him in quite literally a snap. I felt strength flood through me, not much – not at that short distance, but it revitalised me. I drove an elbow into the base of his spine. The hick grunted and spun around, the butt of the gun level with my head; if it connected my neck would probably snap like a twig if the sheer force didn't shatter my skull.

Good thing I was nowhere near it then.

I landed on top of him, pressing down. Had the guy been ready for it – or not already in the process of swinging his gun and unbalanced – this probably would have ended pretty badly for me. The guy outweighed me by a good amount, and the amount of muscle he was packing was nothing to sniff at. As it happened he went down; but not for long. Snarling, he pushed himself onto his feet –

– where my knee thundered into his chin. He gasped in pain and clutched the lower part of his mask, blood ran from his chin and pattered onto the concrete – the asshole had bitten his tongue.

Good.

He grabbed his gun and, releasing a roar like a cornered beast, opened fire. Several people died instantly, shredded by bullets. The rest dropped or dived for cover, Serena and Julie among them as I would later discover. At that point in time I didn't care. I wanted to hurt this asshole. I wanted him to _suffer_. You know something? It felt good.

I jumped behind him again, he wheeled around, poised to deliver another crushing blow but I was nowhere to be found. I whistled in his ear and he span again, enraged at this punk freak who was doing donuts around him. Again and again he spun, and each time I remained out of reach. The burning rage I had felt to begin with had simmered into a cold, sadistic anger. With each jump I grew stronger, while each time he struck air he grew steadily weaker.

It was around the eighteenth jump when I finally decided to put the beast down.

I jumped in front of him this time – and he stopped stupid for a moment – used to a coward always at his back. I flashed him a thin smile before hammering my fist into his gut. He doubled over, meeting a vicious uppercut that floored him and cracked his mask. I placed a foot on his throat and began to press, choking him.

To his credit he recovered pretty quickly, grabbing my shin with one of his huge hands and pulling, bringing me down before he rolled on top of me and held me in a bear hug – intending to crush me.

"Ain't going nowhere now _freak_." He slavered, the pain in his tongue slurring his words.

I merely smirked and jumped again.

The wind bit cold as we plummeted to the earth, and in the air his grip loosened as he realised what had happened. I managed to kick away but he grabbed hold of my shin.

"I die, you die freak!" he screamed. I didn't deign to reply, my intention wasn't to drop him. No I'd not caused nearly enough pain yet. So instead I jumped again, this time appearing a foot or so above ground. The momentum we had carried earlier shattered a good deal of his spine, and my foot lanced into his stomach so deep I could almost feel his backbone. It also jarred my leg, and I instinctively brought it up, clutching it close as soon as he vomited, caking his broken body in the foul stuff.

He was too hurt to speak, too hurt to cry out; he could barely move his arms, his legs were still. I revelled in the sight.

I took hold of a leg and jumped, reappearing over the water that surrounded the city and let go.

I landed back in the middle of the street, in front of Julie and Serena, the latter of which was helping the former to her feet. Both of them froze when they saw me. Serena clambered to her feet and embraced me, I didn't return the sentiment, the fury was bleeding out of me and exhaustion was creeping in. Eventually she released me and Julie stepped forward, eyeing me cautiously.

"Rhys? Is that really you?" she asked. Her voice was little more than a whisper. I'd probably scared her with that display I'd just put on. I didn't care, she was safe. My sister was safe. Before I knew I'd done it I'd stepped towards her and pulled her into a crushing hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning on my feet. The suddenness of it brought her abruptly out of her stupor and she laughed as she returned the hug. Eventually my momentum dried up and I brought her back down, grinning like... well a pixie.

"I thought you were dead... Where's Tommy, and Sam?" she asked. My reaction must have said it all because her joy deflated almost instantly. We released each other and she hugged Serena, though it was significantly less of an event owing to her learning of the untimely death of our elder siblings.

She let go of her sister figure and then looked at us both. She looked like she was about to speak, but she stopped herself.

"You wanna see mom and dad. I'll take you to them." I then noticed that we'd attracted a fair crowd, some of whom were staring in open amazement, others in confusion, and a few with thinly veiled contempt. She began to walk but I took her arm.

"I think it'd be best if we lost our spectators first. Hold on and close your eyes." I instructed. Julie looked at me in confusion, then to Serena who nodded her head. Both of them shut their eyes and took hold of me.

I jumped about eight times in a direction away from here. Sufficient enough to lose anyone who might have been watching our little event, and we emerged in a back-alley.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." I told Julie, who opened and looked around her in wonder.

"That is so _cool!_" she beamed at me "How did you get superpowers? Can I get them too? Did you get any Serena?" I placed a finger on her lips.

"I'll tell you all about it when you get us to where mom and dad are staying."

"Oh we're staying with Mrs Reid. Mr Reid was there too but... they took him." She trailed off. Serena and I shared a glance. Who was 'they'? Did it have anything to do with that masked redneck?

Julie checked our surroundings before pointing dramatically with her finger.

"It's this way! C'mon." She beckoned.

Finding our way there was interruption free, thank God. I'd had enough of gangs trying to bust caps in our collective asses. There was more than enough of that in Empire City.

The Reid's' home was modestly sized, located not far from the skyscraper that dominated the residential/commercial section of the city. Julie opened the door with a spare key and rushed inside, me and Serena following her. A call from Julie, and my parents came into view from the kitchen. My mother; her maroon hair still retaining its lustre even in her middle age, and my father; eyes blue as the sea and his jaw line giving him almost as great a presence as Superman might have. They stopped when they saw me, my mother gasped, my father just stared.

We were wrapped around each other in moments. No matter how much I'd disliked such open displays of affection from my folks in the past, I didn't think I could get enough of it now. Christ I'd missed them. I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I held onto them, fearing that they would disappear forever if I let go.

It occurred to me that it had been a while since I'd slept in a clean bed. Serena's place had been decent, but it had only taken half a week for it to turn into a pig sty. I knew a little of how to clean up after myself, but not enough to make much of an impact. Serena was no help at all in that regard. As a result we needed the window open just to keep the place breathable – not that the smell outside was much better mind.

The bed belonged – or used to belong – to the Reid's son Sean, who had moved out with his girlfriend (now wife) some years ago. The room, much like the house it was situated in, was modest in size. It didn't matter to me; it wasn't like I was carrying much. Most of it burned with Empire City.

A meal for me and Serena was followed by probing questions from my folks (and Julie). I was reluctant to speak of what exactly happened to Tommy and Sam; mostly because I had no idea what had happened to them. That they were dead was of little doubt – if they hadn't been atomised in the initial blast or gunned down by gangers then the frightening entity that had levelled the city and much of the West Coast would have done the job. I answered as honestly as I could – without revealing mine and Serena's powers of course, though the matter was soon presented by Julie; which I really should have seen coming.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. I gave them an indoor demonstration, as did Serena, awe followed, but it quickly gave way to fear for our lives. Apparently that goon from earlier was part of some redneck militia group led by some rich fogey by the name of Bertrand. Him and his group didn't think much of conduits. To make things even more complicated was the sudden migration of these swamp creatures. They had plagued the town before, but never in any great numbers. The incursions only really got worse after the Empire City Disaster; dots were connected but not many were quite sure how the two were related. Honestly I was having similar thoughts. Certainly it was strange, but I wasn't sure how the two could possibly be in tandem with one another.

Of great interest to me and Serena though; even more than the rampaging monsters and the fact that the city was – essentially – in the hands of a gang of rednecks, was the fact that Cole MacGrath had apparently been sighted in town, and he wasn't operating alone. The whole place was an island and in effective lockdown by the Militia; but Cole didn't seem too intent on leaving if the rumours were any indication. I'd given up much hope of finding him long ago but a spark reignited deep within me, and I could tell it had in Serena too. Empire City was still too big a mystery to the both of us; for all we knew Cole could well have been the one who destroyed it as they said he had. Neither of us had been there. Shit he might not even have meant to do it, but if it was him then he was out of control – a mad dog that had to be put down. Much as it made my stomach churn thinking about it, there wasn't really anyone else who could be up to the task – he was burning his way through the Militia like they weren't even there.

Serena... I still had no idea what we were doing with each other. She'd not brought up the night before once. Maybe she knew it was a sore spot? Perhaps. Was she backing off? I doubt it. She didn't want that, and honestly, neither did I. I wanted my warm, easy friendship back, not awkward conversations and long, agonising silences.

The door opened. I stirred. It was still pitch black outside; what time was it? I groaned and flipped on a lamp.

Serena stood next to my bed, her pyjama top unbuttoned and a look in her eyes that would have made a lesser man shiver. Fortunately for me I hadn't sunk quite that low yet.

She moved her head in, tilting it so she could get to my lips more easily. I held my hand up and shut my eyes so as not to be tempted again. Once was bad enough, while I'd be lying if I said it hadn't had its perks, it wasn't worth losing her over.

"Stop it." I said. Fatigue gave my voice an edge that cut more deeply than I meant to. She stopped abruptly and blinked, her eyes spoke of confusion.

"I thought –" she began. I cut her off.

"No. I don't know what you were thinking then but this has got to stop. Just... what exactly do you want from me? You're like a sister to me. You know that. I can't give you what you want from me."

She didn't answer at first, then, when a minute had ticked by she replied in earnest.

"Why? Why is it so wrong for me to have these feelings for you?" her voice was quickening, like she was about to blow like a faulty machine. Good God where had my friend gone? Had Empire City really broken her this much?

"Don't." Her voice quivered, but not with barely restrained hysteria; oh no, this was anger "Don't you look at me like that, like I'm something to be pitied. I could take it from all those other snot-nosed assholes at school but not from you. Never from you. I swear to God if you keep that up I'll..." she trailed off as her voice broke and now the fury was gushing forth like a crack in a dam, the problem was that it was also pushing against whatever she was feeling before she entered my room. The poor girl didn't know what to feel at this moment in time.

So I hugged her. If she wanted to pound me with her fists I'd let her.

"Jesus I'm messed up." She sniffled as she leant into me and returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry." I replied, not knowing what else I could say. We stayed like this for lord-knew how long. Finally, when she calmed down a little, she eased up.

"I love you." It was barely a whisper, and she buried her face in my shoulder. I felt each syllable puncture my heart like a needle.

"I know." It hurt more than anything to say those two words to her. I didn't tell her how she was only fifteen years old and that she couldn't know what love was. Or that she'd probably move on from me given time and find someone who could return her feelings. I didn't tell her that she deserved a lot better than a guy like me; who wasn't sure what he wanted out of life.

Finally we detached ourselves from each other and Serena buttoned her top up – much to my relief. She left without another word, turning the light off and leaving me sitting on the edge of my bed in the dark.

_How apt. _I thought darkly, before rolling on my side and pulling the cover over, trying my hardest to fall asleep so I could forget about how things would never be the same between me and Serena ever again.

**I'm gonna be honest, I don't think this was one of my better pieces of work. I liked writing the brief action sequence – which, conversely, I think was one of my better slices of action writing – but I wasn't really feeling it towards the end. I still enjoyed it but something just feels off about it. Or maybe it's just fatigue from a day full of lectures.**

**Cheers to all my readers and reviewers. Hope you enjoyed reading this.**


	8. An Old Friend

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Eight: An Old Friend**

I awoke to a scent I didn't think would ever grace my nose ever again.

Fried eggs and bacon.

Heaven has never before been so easily described.

Even with the Militia cracking down on suspected 'deviants', the city flourished – well, as much as it could, which was infinitely more than Empire ever had post-MacGrath – and food was far from scarce even if the Militia was taking the best stuff for themselves. Clubs and jazz bars lit up the night with their bright neon signs, shops displayed their goods openly (when they weren't concealed by Militia propaganda posters) and the place seemed so much more _alive _than my home. I began to think for a moment that a normal life really was possible here even with the Gestapo wannabes patrolling the streets, and the odd jacked TV/radio broadcast by Mr Bertrand, the leader of said wannabes.

Then of course I remembered that there was the matter that MacGrath was present in Empire City too, and that there had been sightings of strange beasts in the swamps that dragged people off in the night. The Militia claimed they were dealing with it but hushed whispers claimed that these attacks were penetrating further and further into the city every week. Even more hushed was the talk that apparently these attacks had been going on for months now and were pretty isolated right up until the Militia took control of the city.

Creepy stuff.

But none of that was my problem. My problem consisted of finding Cole MacGrath before he went nuclear and laid waste to the entire city, without the Militia finding out I possessed powers of course.

The fact that my immediate (surviving) family and best friend were also currently residing in said city was complete coincidence. Honest.

Unfortunately this was made all the more difficult by the fact that Mr Reid – who I and everyone else had assumed had been kidnapped – was now proudly sporting Militia colours. That he wasn't a complete xenophobic bastard also took me by surprise. I'd met him coming back from a grocery run, barely removed my dirty, worn sneakers when I see a fairly large man standing in the doorway to the kitchen, gun slung over his shoulder, in the tan brown, white and orange so associated with the oppressors.

I barely shut the door and was about to jump when he turned around with a genial smile on his face.

"Well, you must be Lorraine and Bill's son; pleasure to meet you." He was blessed with a smooth, Southern drawl that soothed instead of irritated, it was entirely at odds with his rounded appearance.

"Sorry if my appearance done scared you, 'fraid I just walked in and not had much time to change." He said apologetically. Despite the fact that my hairs were standing on end and screaming that I should fight or flee, I found myself warming to him almost immediately.

"It's... fine." I said after a brief pause "Julie told me you were dragged off some time ago, I just..."

"S'fine. Lotta people were surprised when they saw me patrolling the streets with the rest of 'em. But I couldn't just sit back and watch as my home was overrun by those... creatures." He said it without the disgust or loathing I'd heard so many of his comrades lace it with. Rather, he sounded fearful. It was for but a fleeting moment though, and soon that friendly father-figure smile was back on his face.

"But don't you worry about it young 'un. We're far from Saints but we'll keep this place safe. You just watch." With that said, he gave his wife a loving peck on the cheek before heading upstairs to get out of his Militia attire.

I have to say, I was floored. What I'd seen so far of the Militia had suggested a thuggish mindset, and that not one among them could amount to anything more than. I wondered briefly how many the Militia numbered, and how many like Mr Reid there could be. New Marais was a big city, and it couldn't be possible that _everyone _in the Militia was a genocidal redneck could it?

I put the thought out of my mind. My parents now knew about mine and Serena's respective gifts and had promised to keep a tight lid on it. While Mr Reid didn't seem like an inherently bad guy, there was no telling what would go down should he discover his family was housing two of the deviants he'd sworn to vanquish.

And speaking of deviants; the hunt for MacGrath continued.

I'd found a decent disguise to wear whenever I was out looking for MacGrath... okay it was just a black handkerchief I wrapped around my face like a villain from an old Western movie, a beanie cap and some shades I had to tape to my head to keep them from falling off but it'd keep strangers from recognising me at least. Serena donned a similar get-up and made sure to dye her hair every other day, not that this would really fool any capable observer but she said it'd take up too much time to change it thoroughly.

While I appreciated that Serena's hair management was essentially a job in and of itself, I still argued the point home until eventually she just plain disregarded me whenever I brought the topic up.

Concealing our powers from the Reids was a more simple matter than I had believed it would be. Most of the time Mr. Reid wasn't home – out patrolling for deviants with his friends who were all half-drunk on power – and considering that Mrs. Reid too was usually out trying to get as much food and stockpile it in case of an escalation in the violence. Sometimes Julie and mom went with her, dad too on some occasions; apparently there wasn't much demand for photojournalists in New Marais anymore. Julie later told me that every so often – most particularly when the city had been officially 'taken' by the Militia – he came home sporting bruises or other injuries that spoke of his run-ins with the patrols.

I guess they don't endorse freedom of the press here in New Marais.

I wished I could help dad out with that, but short of finding the closest Militia patrol and punching their lights out (and I doubted my ability to pull such a feat off before someone raised the alarm) my hands were tied with looking for MacGrath. Naturally mom and dad fretted when they saw Serena and I leave the house; they knew what we were and that the Militia would murder us as soon as they knew too. It didn't help that our excuses for going out were gradually getting gradually more feeble, but how exactly could I tell them that I was looking for a human atomic bomb?

"Hey, you hear about that big old deserted mansion the Militia are using? I heard that psycho MacGrath was there and that he's stirring up all kinds of trouble for the Militia."

Speaking of whom…

I didn't bother saying anything to Serena; I simply nodded casually in the direction of a seemingly deserted back alley. She nodded in affirmation and the two of us slipped out of sight. After pulling our respective 'disguises' over our faces Serena latched onto me and I visualised the top of the closest rooftop before that all too familiar sensation I'm beginning to liken to bungee jumping overtook me. The next thing we knew we were up on high and I plotted a series of jumps, taking us from one end of the city to the other in under two minutes.

I think that might be a new record for me.

The grounds of the old mansion were littered with groaning, unconscious or dead Militia troops. I swore and Serena slammed her fist against the gate in frustration; whatever had happened here, we'd just missed MacGrath. A crowd of onlookers lingered close by, unsure of who the new arrivals were and if they were related to the earlier spectacle.

Serena stomped off into the grounds, I made to stop her but she swiped my hand away.

"I'm going to ask one of these thugs here. Maybe they know which direction he went." She said before shaking the closest looking goon awake who looked the least likely to try and jump her.

I decided in a few minutes to take a page out of Serena's book and search the place, mostly because I was so damn bored of watching her hop from man to man slapping them awake and threatening them with her floating nails of death. The onlookers were beginning to increase in number, and I'm all but certain some of them saw Serena working her special brand of magic if those worried faces are anything to go by.

I told Serena I'd meet her around the back of the mansion when she was done and continued my stroll of the grounds. A shack with its doors blown off quickly grabbed my attention – mostly because of the ice… was it ice? Brr. Yeah, definitely ice… what is that doing here?

Curiosity quickly spurring my body into action, I entered the shack and found it entirely empty save for a cargo elevator in the centre. I rode it all the way to the bottom, aware that the temperature was suddenly beginning to drop.

What I found down here made me even more curious as to what exactly is going on in this crazy city.

There was a massive underground chamber with several levels; each of them lined with open pods that looked like something straight of a science-fiction movie. At the very bottom of the chamber sat a strange looking machine that looked part torture device, part… well actually just torture device. Like the pods, and everything else down here, it was empty. _Damn cold though;_ I thought as I pulled the handkerchief down to cover my exposed neck. I wondered if there was something stored in these pods. Meat for the Militia perhaps? I scoffed at myself for even thinking it; surely there'd not be a need for this kind of storage just for some beef and chicken.

I heard a thud behind me and twisted around just in time to see a blur crunch into me. I was knocked over and my assailant was on top of me. It couldn't be Serena, so it had to be one of the Militia, probably one who had the bright idea to lie low while MacGrath cut a path through his friends. I felt two arms encircle me and begging to squeeze, the strength behind the grip was disarmingly strong and I knew that if I didn't do something fast I'd end up a cripple.

I jumped. Usually that tends to surprise people.

It worked.

Suddenly appearing ten feet above ground comes as a shock to most people, the guy let go –

It was a _girl._

Not just any girl either.

"Sía…" I breathe. The girl responds surprisingly quickly to the sudden teleportation and lands on the ground gracefully, that strange carapace welling around her legs.

"Rhys?" she asks cautiously. Time doesn't seem to have changed her in the slightest. Her hair is still that strange white-blonde that I found so entrancing when I first met her, but it's shorter now, only a little longer than Serena's. Her sea green eyes still draw my own gaze, and her face – while thinner – still possesses an allure that I just want to…

How exactly could I have loathed this person so vehemently?

I shake my head and realise that her stance is guarded. I rack my brain and remember that I threatened to drop her from a very large height if I saw her again. I sigh, still unsure of my own feelings. It feels almost like talking to an ex the day after you dumped her.

"I'm not going to drop you… if that's what you're worried about." She relaxes a little, but she's still a little cautious. Understandable, she seemed pretty hurt; though considering exactly what I'd thrown at her it wasn't really unexpected. She probably thought I hated her guts for being the reason I almost lost my only friend.

Except that wasn't true.

No, even as we continued the awkward stare-off the fact running through my head was that _I _had _willingly_ gone along and helped her with her little crusade. She'd not forced me into it once; she'd encouraged me to, but she'd never coerced me. Serena's hospitalisation was on my head, I'd known it then but I'd not wanted to admit that my own actions had almost cost my friend her life. Even now, looking at her and reflecting on what I'd said to her, I still didn't want to admit it.

"I'm…" I started, but I stopped. My throat was dry and I was still reeling from the surprise of seeing her here of all places.

"Yeah…" she said softly, and the silence continued to permeate the chamber. Finally she swallowed and spoke up first.

"I was looking for Cole." She said, her brogue soft but still noticeable.

"So were we." I replied quietly.

"We? So then…" she trailed off. I nodded. She gave me a small smile.

"I'm glad. I thought with her… you know… that she might not…"

"She did." I paused for a moment "And uh, thanks." I added as an afterthought.

She shifted uncomfortably on the spot. I simply stood there, not entirely sure of what to say or if I even wanted to say anything.

"How did you get out of Empire City?" she asked.

"How do you think?" I replied, raising an eyebrow. Her face reddened and she turned away, abashed at her forgetfulness.

"Yeah. Of course… sorry."

"S'no big deal." I told her, "How did you?" I asked.

"I swam… I just… swam and watched as the city burned, and all those people died." Her voice was a whisper "I could have done something, I could have saved some of them but I was so terrified… that – that _thing_ Rhys; I've never seen anything like it. How can something like that exist?"

I let her talk; I still had a tough time wrapping my own head around what had happened to our home. In all perfect clarity, the moment I'd seen that monstrosity I'd felt deep in my bones that to get close to that thing was to die. I'd probably taken even less time to think about fleeing the city than Sía had.

I wonder what kind of person that makes me.

"So why exactly are you here?" I asked.

"I dunno." She replied instantly "I just swam and I ran. Didn't stop, didn't slow down; I kept going until I just crashed outside the city."

"How long ago was that? And how did you get past the Militia blockades?"

"About two days ago," not long after Serena and I had made our entrance "and I came through the swamps. Must've gotten lucky cause I didn't see a single Militia on my way in… didn't even know there were blockades even set up come to think of it."

That was indeed very lucky, especially considering all the rumours flying around about how the swamplands were the most dangerous place to be right now. Even more impressive was how this girl had likely spent more than a week simply running nonstop. Did her powers give her that much energy or was she just that afraid? Now that I took her appearance in more fully I noticed the bags under her eyes. Her face was thinner; her clothes were dirty and faded. She also stank. My face must have soured because she suddenly gasped a little and crossed her arms, trying her best to look offended.

"Well you try living without a shower for more than a week you insensitive jerk!"

I laughed.

I actually laughed.

Suddenly all the confusion, the fog that came over me when I saw this person lifted. It's incredible how a single moment can change so much.

"Sorry. I – sorry, it's just… you…" I pulled my hand over my face and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to stifle my guffaws. Finally I calmed down enough to concentrate and I realised there was one more thing I wanted to ask her.

"Why are you here?" she tilted her head, unsure of the question.

"I told you didn't I? I ran and –"

"No. I mean why are you _here?_"

And suddenly she was uncomfortable and awkward again.

"I uh, heard that Cole MacGrath was here." I almost slapped myself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Of course you did. Stupid question."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Same reason." I replied.

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"You know, I don't know why you're looking for him but seeing as how we've got the same goals and all…" I saw where she was going with this, but I still wasn't sure if I –

"Hey Rhys!" Serena levitated herself down into the chamber; she stopped for a few moments, taking in her surroundings.

"Whoa… someone's clearly taken a few notes out of the 'Evil Lair for Dummies' book. What is this place?" she asked, then she saw Sía and put her guard up.

"Who's she?" she asked, suspicious.

"Don't worry she's not Militia, I think she'd find it kinda hard signing up with them on account of her –"

As soon as I spoke that matte black carapace appeared on Sía's arms. She gave Serena a wry grin before the carapace seemed to ebb back, like her skin absorbed it.

Even for us conduits; that's creepy.

Serena's face lit up like a torch.

"You're one of us?" she exclaimed, she sounded happy "Oh this is awesome! All the ones we've met so far have been trying to kill us or are just really, really creepy. What's your name? Where do you live?" her mouth was shooting questions off like bullets from a gun and I raised my hand for silence. I was a little surprised she didn't recognise her, though I suppose she'd only known her for a few moments before…

"Serena. Please." Serena shot me a dirty look and folded her arms. You'd never have believed she was little miss motor mouth a few seconds ago.

Sía looked a little overwhelmed by my friend and she scratched her head awkwardly at the new arrival.

"Well um, I'm Sía and I was from Empire City… like you." Serena's face fell at the mention of our home, now little more than a pit of rubble and death.

"Oh… Well at least someone else survived." Serena said glumly.

And just like that, the mood plummeted as three survivors of Empire City wallowed in memories of their home and its untimely demise.

Voices from above suddenly snapped us out of our moping demeanour. It could be some people finally let their curiosity get the better of them, but I didn't want to take any chances in this place.

"I think we should get going. Don't think we're gonna find anything on MacGrath here." I said, Serena sighed and nodded in defeat and took my arm, then threw her gaze back to Sía.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked. I felt myself tense in surprise; Sía too looked just as surprised.

"Rhys here can teleport. Grab on." Serena said and motioned at my free arm. Sía scratched her head.

"I dunno…" she started. I felt the need to interject, but Serena beat me to the punch.

"Look if those guys up there are with the Militia then if they spot you, your face will be plastered all over town and they'll hunt you down and kill you. Come on!" Serena made a good point. Regardless of my feelings towards this girl – good or otherwise – I didn't want her death on my conscience.

I extended my arm.

"Come on." I said, offering her a slight, but welcoming smile.

Sía paused for a moment, her surprise now directed at me. Eventually a warm smile graced her lovely features and she took my hand before huddling close as Serena did.

"Hold on tight you two," I said as I focused on where exactly I wanted to be "and shut your eyes. We'll be out in a flash."

And then we vanished, leaving the cold, dusty chamber and its mysteries behind.

**Slow chapter is slow.**

**In other news my first year is now done; exams, assignments and all. Christ it feels like barely a month ago I just started out here. Since I have nothing else to do with my time now I think I'll update all my stories here. Thanks for reading.**


	9. Chaos in New Marais

**For those of you who might have picked this up wondering what it might be about: hi and I hope you enjoy your stay. For those of you who have been waiting on this since whenever it was I last updated this story: I'm sorry. It's been far too long.**

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Nine: Chaos in New Marais**

We reappeared outside the entrance to the chilly little bunker.

I'd meant to take us further than that.

"Uh, Rhys?" Serena said guardedly. I know, I know, give me a–

Oh.

It seemed that in the brief span of time we'd been conversing down in the chuckle bunker a few trucks of Militia thugs had shown up. Damn these guys move fast.

"What the…" one masked Militiaman wondered aloud as if he'd never seen three teens materialise in front of his eyes before. The penny dropped soon enough though and in moments he was bringing his gun to bear on us.

"One ticket out of Thug Lane coming right up," I muttered, as the mass cocking of assorted firearms reached my ears.

We jumped before they could open fire–

–Only to reappear behind one of the militia vehicles barely ten metres away.

The crippling agony came before I could wonder what exactly was going on with my powers and I felt myself collapse as the searing fire burned my nerve endings. I think one of the girls called my name in shock. Don't know which one. My head was ringing like someone let off every firework in a display off at once inside my skull. I puked, and I'm pretty sure it was bloody.

I had the distinct sensation of someone lifting me and then I'm airborne with her. I think I heard the crack-rattle of gunfire. I thought I could feel my bones rattle as my carrier – who I think I'm convinced was Sía – landed roughly on a rooftop. Roundabout there was when I passed out as pain overwhelmed me.

**-X-**

I woke up on a cot in an unfamiliar building. A quick check told me I was in a small infirmary. An open window told me it was dark outside. It also sent waves of agony burning through my body and I gasped at the suddenness of it, falling back onto the mattress. It pained me just to keep breathing; I didn't want to imagine what it felt like to move if it hurt this bad just lying in bed. So I lay still, unmoving for what felt like a maddening eternity until, finally, the door swung open and someone stepped in.

"Hello again," said an eerily familiar voice. If I remembered right, it belonged to someone I really hoped we wouldn't bump into again.

Elias Shirayuki's smiling face filled my vision.

"I must admit, we all thought you two were nothing but a couple of thieves who happened to be conduits when we found the couple we stumbled across and nowhere to be found and some of our supplies missing." He said, placing a hand to his chin, observing me.

"You can't imagine my surprise when we found you and the other two cradling your body in a dirty back alley three days ago. It's rather lucky none of those jingoistic Southerner thugs were around, else I imagine you'd have been in quite the predicament." My head was reeling. _Three days?!_ I'd been out for three whole days?

While I was processing all that Elias sighed and drew back. I heard an awful dragging din and presumed that Elias had pulled up a chair.

"Your girlfriend was rather unhappy to see us," I assumed he was talking about Serena, "took us a bit of convincing to allow Alison to see to you, but then something rather odd happened… you want to hear it?"

I couldn't answer; I didn't want to find out how much grief my body would give me if I made the movements necessary to utter even a syllable.

"You – or rather, I should say your body – rejected her gift. _Rejected!_ Can you imagine her expression when it happened? It's inconceivable! Never happened before!" he sounded genuinely incredulous, which only made me more uncomfortable. The way he was speaking made it sound like I was some great puzzle to be solved.

"So… after we all calmed down,dear Alison used her other gifts to try and… well… scan you – if you'll excuse the crude terminology, it's actually far more elegant than that, or at least that's what she tells us, and… and…" his tone of voice suddenly turned grave, and he released a heavy sigh.

"Look, I know our motley group probably doesn't give off the best impression – I myself thought precious little of them upon our first meetings – but I swear to you now that they are all good, worthy people at heart… well, most of them anyway." I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Elias continued.

"I'm going to give you a choice, and I know you're in great pain right now, but if you want to hear what I have to tell you then I want you to blink twice. If not, then simply remain as you are… be warned however, the news is far from… comforting."

I waited a moment, weighing my options. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what it was he had to say. I gave the barest of nods in affirmative.

"Brave boy," Elias smiled gently before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as if preparing himself for some great trial. Finally he opened his mouth, only for the door into the room to burst open. It was one of his crew, the huge dark skinned man covering his face with that girly cowl. He glanced down at me before motioning for Elias to step outside with him.

"I'll be back in a moment Rhys," Elias said before leaving the room with his friend – Evan if I recalled correctly – and leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I was alone for what felt like aeons until eventually I heard the door open again. Craning my head around, I saw, to my surprise (and, strangely, delight) that it was Sía, snow blonde, green eyes and all. I still wasn't entirely sure what I felt for her, but hell, with Elias' band of creepy dudes around I wasn't going to complain.

"Hey Rhys," she said quietly with a little wave and a slight smile before she sauntered over to my bedside and sat down.

"Me and Serena were doing a little digging while you were out," as if realising she'd said something wrong she suddenly raised a hand in a warding gesture, "not that we weren't worried, but when that guy Elias and his group examined you we sorta didn't have much else to do, so we started looking for Cole MacGrath again and…" she trailed off before glancing over her head as if to make sure no one was listening in, "get this; there is some _majorly _freaky stuff going on in this city. There are these creatures coming out of the swampland. They look like people, only really messed up and they attack anyone they see. I've overheard some people say that there are even bigger things out there as well."

All right, let's pretend we don't live in a comic book land for a moment… says the guy who can teleport. Fine, maybe it's not totally unbelievable.

"Me and Serena have helped take a few of them down and we've been trying to look for a nest or something but we've come up with nothing so far."

I got the feeling she was about to elaborate, but the door swung open once more. Elias and his big crony stepped back inside.

"Ah, Ms McGuire," Elias said pleasantly, addressing Sía, "I didn't know you'd returned. Is Serena with you?"

"She's outside," Sía replied with a gracious smile before turning back to me. She must have caught my expression because she leaned in close to me.

"Elias and his people are good guys, they helped you – helped us. They're letting us use this building while we find out what's wrong with you and…" she trailed off, tilting her head to the side, listening.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Elias frowned and listened, as did the big guy. Now that I thought about it I think I could hear some kind of commotion outsi–

A sudden roar ripped through the noise and suddenly I was hearing screams, gunfire, cars blaring their horns and shouts. I was also hearing, no, _feeling _something draw closer. Something big.

No one moved. The pounding continued, growing steadily nearer. An explosion lit up the dark through the window. Elias was there in an instant, peering outside. His expression shifted from curiosity to confusion to disbelief and finally to horror in all of a second.

"Down! Down!" He bellowed, throwing himself away from the window.

Suddenly the wall exploded inwards. Plaster, bricks and other bits of building frame showered the interior of the infirmary. Dust smothered my prone form and I hacked and spluttered and, against the protests of my screaming bones, I rubbed my eyes clear. Through the dust I could make something… something…

The thing shifted, disappearing into the city, where fresh screams and the all too familiar pop of gunfire began to resound through the night streets.

"Everyone okay?" Elias asked, grimacing as he picked himself up. Evan nodded, while Sía gave me a quick check over before nodding in affirmation.

"We…" he started, running a hand through his black hair, "we need to…" he trailed off, staring at the wound that whatever that monster was had rent in the side of the building. I followed his gaze outside and felt my blood run cold as I realised that I recognised some of the buildings outside.

This was the same street my family was holed up in.

I practically rolled on top of Sía in my panic, and she yelped in surprise. I paid her no heed. From the sound of it the thing outside wasn't slowing down and all I could think of was my mother, my father and my kid sister Julie standing in the middle of the street while so many tons of monster bore down on them. As much as it terrified me the thought gave me strength enough to at least push on through the throbbing agony ripping through me. I heard Sía cry my name as I pushed myself upright and leapt through the open hole in the building, searching for that familiar feeling as I engaged my powers.

This time they didn't fail me, and while I felt like throwing my guts up when I emerged, I was still upright. It was chaos. Cars burned, great gashes were torn in the sides of the tall buildings lining the street. People littered the place, most running, some shooting, a few snapping pictures absurdly enough. A few lay on the ground, unmoving while others…

"What the hell," I breathed as I took in the sight of the assorted creatures running rampant in the streets. They had a roughly human physique but they were taller, almost stretched with rough, pallid skin, a hairless, deathly pale head held four horrible, clacking mandibles, arms ended in curved, bladed shells slick with blood. The legs were thick and powerful, articulated, bowed backwards and ended in wicked claws. Its eyes displayed no discernible intellect, only mindless, animal fury.

One such beast turned towards me, as if sensing my scrutiny. A disembowelled pedestrian, a middle aged man in a hideous yellow tee and tan shorts, lay at its feet. The monster took a step forward, appearing very much like a predator about to pounce. I resolved to be gone before it could get that close and began to focus when suddenly it was howling in front of me, one scythe-arm poised to take my head from my torso. I barely had time to blink.

A blur slammed into it, bowling it over and slamming it roughly into the side of an upturned car. The impact set off the car alarm. Sía stood over it, panting, before drawing a fist back, the strange carapace she possessed rolling over her hands, and slamming it into the creature's head, crushing it in a spatter of dark, foul smelling gore.

Abruptly I was shaken from my daze at having almost been skewered by a monster from a bad horror movie. I shouted a quick 'thanks' to Sía and jumped again, ignoring her plea for me to stop. I found myself on the roof of an apartment overlooking the street where we'd been living since we arrived in New Marais. I could see more of those monsters down on the streets below, hacking and slashing indiscriminately at Militiamen and civilians both.

I could also see what had stirred up this nightmare.

It loomed even taller than some of the buildings. A vast, hunched body was supported by four long crab legs that seemed almost too frail to support such a mass. A ribbed shell covered its back and two great arms extended from its left and right hand sides, covered in dark carapace and ending in large, cruel claws. What looked like a ribcage opened up, splitting like a spiny, horrific flower, revealing two glowing purple sacs beneath. Something darted out from inside and latched onto a fleeing man before pulling him screaming into the monstrosity's chest. I realised with a start that there must be some kind of organic hook or grapple inside the creature. But what was it for?

My answer came moments later when its chest burst sickeningly wide open once more and a creature like those rampaging in the streets leapt out to join its monstrous kin. I clamped a hand over my mouth, feeling my jaw drop. It had taken that man and _turned _him into one of those monsters! Was this great leviathan – this behemoth – the source, the cause of these monsters? A living hive constantly spawning or creating new beasts to wreak more havoc on the city?

A scream drew my attention away from the great monster, which was being hit with every rocket and bullet the Militia had (to dismal effect), and back towards the carnage on the street. My heart caught in my throat as I saw Julie cornered against a van by two monsters.

"Julie!" I screamed before jumping on top of the van, a murderous expression on my face and violence on my mind.

"Stay away from my sister you _animals_," I hissed before leaping at the pair of monsters. At a much, much later time I would wonder exactly what was going through my head at that time, charging head-first towards two monsters most assuredly faster and stronger than I am, even with the boost I get from each jump. I would wonder why I didn't just simply teleport both Julie and myself away, into the house maybe. I'd then recall that I'd lost two brothers in Empire City and that hadn't been any fun at all. I'd no desire to see my last and youngest sibling die, not in front of me… and not like that. Not to those abominations. Coherent thought had taken a backseat and let the primitive side lurking in all of us take the helm. The side that would have us rip and claw our way through the worst the world has to offer in order to survive.

My fist knocked one of the monsters off balance for a moment. Its partner whirled around in an instant, slapping me with the back of its scythe arm. Nothing cut but it stang like a bastard and I think I felt a rib crack. I roared, I think. Primal fury filled me and lent me strength, pushed me beyond my limits. I felt nothing except the desire, no, the _need_ to destroy these beasts that had threatened my family.

I jumped again, appearing behind the creature that had essentially backhanded me and grabbed it in an armlock. It was amateurish at best, and even fuelled by fury it was all I could do not to let go of the struggling creature.

But all I needed was an instant.

In a heartbeat we were up high in the air, falling headfirst towards the unforgiving, uncaring concrete of Pastor Avenue. I let go and was away before the monster broke free and swung its arm around to take my head off.

I was back beside Julie in the space of three seconds. The last monster, having recovered its balance, leapt. Going entirely on instinct, I stepped inside the creature's attack and unleashed what felt like a rain of blows on its chest. Even through my blood haze I felt my knuckles split and crack. Hitting the thing felt like punching a wall. I staggered the monster for a brief moment, but where physical damage was concerned I'd probably have been just as effective slapping it with a wet kipper.

A quick slash cut a shard of agony through my leg and drove me to my knees. My strength left me again, and all I was left with was a badly bleeding leg and an entirely aching body. A wracking cough dropped me. I threw up blood again. How had I got as far as I did with _this _coursing through me? The monster paused for a moment, confused by my sudden defencelessness. The indecisiveness lasted but a moment however, and it quickly raised the other arm not dripping with my blood to end my life. My head started buzzing, and I think I heard Julie weeping. Don't cry, I thought. I'll find a way out of this. Have to…

no…

doesn't…

head…

it hurts…

Just as my vision grew darker for what I now believed would be the last time a blinding flash illuminated the night. A great, resounding screech that could only have come from the gargantuan terror ripping through the city reverberated through the night. Some of the monsters stumbled; others froze before turning in the monster's direction, ignoring everything around them, like they were waiting for some unheard command.

Down the street I saw the big bastard reeling. Dark, oily blood positively flowed from a ruptured purple sac in its yawning chest. A lone figure stood against the creature, his arms raised and pulsing with racing energy, his profile utterly unmistakeable even at this distance in my daze.

Cole MacGrath.


	10. The Demon of Empire City

**Riftwalker**

**Chapter Ten: The Demon of Empire City**

Until that day I'd never seen the object of mine and Serena's obsession in the flesh before. We knew what he looked like, everyone in Empire City did before it was blown apart (and Bertrand appeared to believe our man MacGrath was at the centre of things yet again), but we'd assumed he'd be nothing more than a terrorist despite the alleged acts of good he'd propitiated for the good of its people. Naturally we'd taken these reports with a grain of salt. It made little sense after all, for the man who had practically reduced Empire City to ruins (before apparently blowing it up altogether) to suddenly start trying to help it.

We heard the stories of the 'Lightning Man' that was Cole MacGrath, but never in my wildest imagination could I have possibly comprehended the sheer, raw, unstoppable _power _he wielded now. His limbs crackled and raced with energy, lashing at the towering behemoth with bolts of electricity that were actually forcing the beast _back!_

It was mesmerising.

It was _terrifying._

_This _was the man Serena and I (and Sía) had been seeking, and for a moment I started to wonder why in all the seven layers of hell we'd thought to search for this man.

I became dimly aware that someone was helping me up. Julie, who had evidently recovered from her slack-jawed stupor at the sudden appearance of the 'Demon of Empire City' had remembered that I was in the middle of bleeding in the middle of the road. So did I, now that I thought about it, and suddenly the stinging agony of the gash the freak had given me returned with a vengeance. I was only thankful that the even more crippling pain from before hadn't kicked in yet.

And no sooner had I thought that, when it returned with almost as much gusto as the pain of my more immediately concerning leg wound. I gasped and suddenly bent over to clutch at my boiling insides in the vain hope that doing so might somehow alleviate the pain. Both of us fell, Julie surprised at my sudden movement and shock had already weakened her.

I collapsed next to the body of a strangely portly Militiaman, his left side had been savaged frightfully; the stink of blood and organs made me gag and despite my aching everything I pulled away from him…

And then I stopped and stared as I realised I knew the identity of this cadaver.

Mr Reid lay on the ground in front of me, a wide pool of blood spreading out from underneath his large frame. His rifle lay in two pieces at his side, sheared by the same blow that had felled him. His skin was a ghastly white and I knew there was no way he was ever going to be okay. I heard Julie gasp in shock as she too realised who it was she was looking at and I cursed myself for forgetting about her in my own horror.

Incredibly, though, Mr Reid was still alive, and an unhealthy, wet cough escaped his increasingly blue lips. He looked at the two of us staring down at him, and a look of indescribable pain came over him, as if he wanted nothing more than to spare us this pitiful, terrible sight. I could almost feel my heart rend at his all too obvious agony, and the knowledge that he clearly wasn't long for this world.

"You got to her… good," he wheezed, and in my focus the clash between the two titans and the Militia reduced to an irritating background noise. "I tried… to get to her but… bastard blindsided me." His breathing was getting more and more infrequent, and more laboured. Julie wept, and I think I was on the verge of doing so myself.

"Keep her safe… and… tell Mary I'm sorry…"

And then he died.

Just like that.

My mind was reeling. I was physically a wreck, still bleeding heavily from my leg wound, some crippling injury or sickness was wracking me with spasms and burning pain, and now this kind, gentle man, who had wanted nothing more than to help defend his home and protect his family and friends, had died. A faint voice in the back of my mind kept telling me I was seeing things. Mr Reid had made waffles with my dad just three days ago before I'd set out with Serena, he'd cracked an awful joke that dear Mrs Reid had found hilarious, and even the rest of us had cracked a wry grin.

Things like this just didn't happen to people like him. They couldn't.

And then something inside of me broke.

My cheeks wet with recently shed tears; I turned towards the scene of the duel between MacGrath and the walking leviathan. The thing was bleeding from a dozen horrific wounds and it was clear to any observer that MacGrath had it on the ropes. Then as the Demon of Empire City prepared to unleash the final blow, the monster shrieked, an ear-splitting cry so high-pitched and so loud that all the glass in the street shattered and MacGrath actually staggered.

Instead of capitalising on the opening, however, the monster seemed to conjure up a thick, green smog that wreathed around it like a smoke screen. I could hear a horrendous cracking of bones and slithering of flesh and then the smog disappeared…

And the monster was gone.

Cole MacGrath stood in the centre of a maelstrom of destruction, a strange look on his face, like he'd discovered exactly what cards his opponents on a poker table had.

And then he started running.

I wasn't going to let him go. Not this time, not when I was so close, but I hurt all over and there didn't seem to be any way I could possibly keep up.

I staggered forwards after him, leaning on a wrecked taxi cab for support. Julie rushed after me and tugged on my arm but I shrugged her off, completely fixated on Cole MacGrath's retreating form. He hopped onto a window ledge and started to climb. Jesus, I'd never seen anything like it, not even on some of those old free running videos Tommy liked to show me.

Desperation welled up within me. I was losing him. I couldn't afford to lose him. Damnit I _wouldn't_ lose him.

I strained my body and my powers, knowing full well it might just kill me, but I did it anyway and suddenly I was in the air and closing on him. A wave of anguish ripped through me again and for one horrible moment I was in freefall above the wartorn streets of New Marais. Fresh determination once more surged through me as Cold hopped over the edge of the building, clambering effortlessly onto the roof of an apartment block.

I screamed. It was a primal, savage noise. Pure emotion, and which ones exactly I still can't say for certain. I jumped, again and again until I was – finally – within arm's reach of my target.

'_MacGrath!' _I bellowed, and then I cannoned into him like a charging bull. Both of us fell over, a confused tangle of limbs before we separated abruptly, and I rolled over and over, coming to a stop just on the opposite edge of the building. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cole rising to his feet, dusting himself off and no doubt wondering what the hell had just happened.

I felt more weak than I'd ever felt in my life, but I was convinced that if I let him go here I'd never get this close to him ever again and, shakily, I too pushed myself up. Cole turned his head towards me, regarding me with a curious expression.

I let him stew on his thoughts before I jumped again.

My fatigue was clearly weakening my gifts too, though, as instead of behind him as I wanted to, I rematerialized just in front of him. I recovered quickly – remarkably so considering my pathetic condition – and threw a sharp, slugging punch aimed squarely at his jaw…

And then pain enveloped my world.

I saw nothing but white for a moment, and then I was on my back, limbs splayed, looking up at the night sky on top of a rooftop in New Marais, bleeding and broken and crying like a newborn.

Cole stepped over me, one hand crackling with power. He placed a cautious foot atop me, but he needn't have bothered. Whatever he'd done, it had knocked all the fight out of me.

"Who are you, and what the hell was that just now?" he asked me.

"You know what it was," I slurred, "murderer." I said, trying to muster enough strength to spit at him. Cole squeezed his eyes shut at my slander, why though, I couldn't say.

"You've seen Bertrand's broadcasts," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Empire City," I breathed, "you killed everyone. My brothers, Serena's friends, and then you blew it up as if we hadn't suffered enough already."

A forlorn expression appeared on Cole's face, and he took a deep breath.

"So this is a vendetta?" he asked slowly.

I nodded in response, hoping my expression was sufficiently hateful. If it was though, it didn't seem to faze him much. He sighed again, a very soft expression, before, incredibly, he took his foot off my chest and sat down next to me. I was more than confused. I'd expected cold behaviour, gloating, a megalomaniacal laugh at a stretch, but this seemed almost _human._

"I don't have all the time in the world right now kid," he said, placing a hand behind his head and scratching for a moment. "But I can tell you this… I caused the Empire City disaster. Not directly, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't my fault. I caused so much suffering that I had – _needed _– to make it right."

I wanted to tell him he was a liar, and that if there was a hell he was most certainly headed there when he died, but the words caught in my throat. He sounded completely sincere. I tried, vainly, to try and shake my head to clear it. There was no way I was hearing this correctly, right?

"What happened in Empire City to destroy it though, was something else. It's something much worse than me, worse than that giant maggot that just strolled through town. I was… supposed to be ready for it, and I wasn't, and people died. And I don't think I'll ever really forgive myself for failing them." He paused for a moment, taking another few deep breaths.

"It's coming here too. You've seen the news of the devastation striking all along the East Coast right?" It was kind of hard to avoid them, as the mystery surrounding them coupled with the frequency of the disasters was still very much a hot topic among the major news networks. "I've been given something that can help me defeat it, maybe even kill it, but to do that I need…" he trailed off, and turned his head to the side.

Following his gaze, I found Sía and Serena standing a handful of metres away. Serena looked a mixture of vengeful and terrified, and appeared to be constantly fidgeting with the box of nails she carried. Sía just looked stupefied, both at Cole's mere physical presence and my sorry state if I was any judge, which I wasn't considering my pitiful condition.

"Friends of yours?" Cole asked softly, so as not to raise any undue alarm. I nodded slowly, ever more confused. Surely if he was the villain Serena and I had taken him for he'd not at all be opposed to frying the both of them then and there. But then he confirmed it himself: he caused the Empire City incident, the bombing that had sent it not so much spiralling as careening into a downward slump in the first place anyway.

"Get away from him," Serena called, placing a nail between each of her fingers. Her eyes were wide and sweat trickled down her face, her purple highlights falling over one eye which she didn't remove, too focused on Cole's every minute movement.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Cole called, "or you." He added.

Sía placed a hand on Serena's and lowered it. Serena looked at her sharply before acquiescing, gradually lowering her arm.

"So you guys are all conduits?" Cole asked. I nodded again.

"Good, then they can take you from here. I have to follow up on Godzilla's ugly cousin," with that he hopped onto his feet and turned. A thought seemed to occur to him as he stopped short of racing off, turning back to face me.

"By the way… have you run across someone about your age called Joan by any chance?" he asked.

My puzzlement must have shown, because he sighed again and shook his head.

"Never mind then… hold still for a moment," he said as he held his hands together, electricity began to course through his arms and for a moment I feared he was going to barbeque me than and there. I squeezed my eyes shut, already anticipating the death blow.

A sharp, sudden jolt made my body spasm and shudder and I waited for death to claim me… but instead I felt… good. I hurt like a bastard, but unlike before it felt… bearable. Incredulous, I raised an arm. No blistering pain, just the ache and throb of my bleeding wounds. I cringed as I took in the state of my hands for the first time since the mess with the behemoth had started: two of my fingers were undoubtedly broken, and in one place I'd even laid open the skin to the bone.

I turned away from my ruined hands, gingerly avoiding putting them under any great strain. I looked up at Cole, who had taken a step back, likely fearing an attack by Serena or Sía. Serena looked like she had started, but had once more been stopped by Sía. After a brief moment making sure Serena wasn't likely to try planting a few nails in his spine when his back was turned, he glanced back down at me.

"I'm sorry kid. I really am, but I'm not your enemy."

And with that he turned and raced across the rooftop, hopping from one to the next with a mixture of power usage and pure athleticism.

We didn't do anything except stare at his departing figure for a few minutes, and my brain was working on overdrive trying to process everything he'd said and done. Was it entirely possible that our little quest for vengeance was unfounded? No, no he'd said he was responsible for the bombing of Empire City… which led me to the other thing he'd said. If he hadn't reduced Empire City to rubble all that time ago… what exactly had? And he'd said that whatever had done that was on its way here as well.

I held my head in my hands, for all of a second before remembering their terrible state and snatched them away from my pounding skull as the first pinpricks pierced their way through my digits.

"Rhys!" Serena shouted anxiously, rushing towards my sitting form and crouching down next to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded dumbly, not entirely sure I could trust my mouth to work. I'd had to deal with so much in such a short amount of time.

"You sure?" Sía asked, her face a mask of concern, "you look like something a stray cat spat out."

I almost chuckled, but I still hurt too much to do so with any great deal of comfort.

"No," I said finally, my voice creaky with pain.

"Julie's back at the house, your folks are there too, and Mrs Reid. She asked me if we could look for her husband while we were out looking for you," Serena said, and a wave of relief and grief flooded through me. In the encounter with the Electric Man I'd forgotten all about my sister…

And Mr Reid.

"I need to talk to her about that," I told her. She looked ready to argue the point but I shot her a look and she held her tongue.

"Okay then," she nodded, "Let's get down from here."

**-X-**

Telling Mary Reid that her husband was dead was an experience that'll haunt me until the end of my life. I can recall every second of her grief, the way her head shook, visibly rejecting the possibility that I was telling the truth and that her beloved Dennis was dead. Even telling her that he had died in the noblest way possible hadn't assuaged her in any way, and honestly, I hadn't expected it to.

Julie had been out playing with a friend she'd made from the house next door and looking for me and Serena when the behemoth had attacked. She'd not seen her friend since, and the haunted look in her eye tells me she blames herself for kind, soft-hearted, jolly Mr Reid's murder. I still haven't told her otherwise even though I know it's the truth. Regardless of whether or not she'd been out there playing with her friend Mr Reid still could have been called out to help defend the city from the monster.

Where exactly that big fucker came from or where it went nobody seems to know. The Militia claim that they're on top of it, as they do with everything bad that's happened since they took over, but not even they seem to believe that if the way their patrols all seem that much jumpier is any indication. Sía seems to think it's a conduit, but conduits can't possibly become things like that, can they? They teleport, or shoot lightning or fire, or control metal. They don't turn into monsters like those from old myths and legends.

The most frustrating thing about all of it is that I can't do anything to even try to verify what I've been told, as I'm confined to a hospital bed, fervently praying that no one notices anything out of the ordinary about my blood or skin or whatever and notifies the Militia. My family visits every day, and they tell me Mrs Reid went to a Militia memorial service honouring those who perished fighting the Behemoth. Interestingly enough, Joseph Bertrand wasn't there to lead it, delegating it to one of his subordinates, who proceeded to turn what should have been a respectful service into a hateful anti-Conduit rally.

Assholes.

But even my time spent fuming over that is short-lived, as my mind replays my meeting with Cole MacGrath over and over, trying to work out an angle. The profile Serena and I had built up of him hadn't fit even slightly with how he'd appeared to be on that rooftop on that night, and try as I might I still couldn't make my mind up.

Part of me wanted to believe he was telling the truth, that he hadn't intended on anything like the devastation he'd inadvertently caused (or so he claimed), but then if that was the case then what had been the point in me and Serena hounding him all this time? The more cynical, spiteful segment of my mind refused to accept that our witch hunt had been for nothing, and that Cole was merely a very well-practised liar, and he was laughing about our little confrontation as he fried the next group of bystanders to cross his path.

My head hurt. I needed to sleep. I needed to rest. Maybe when I next woke up everything would seem crystal clear again as it had been before that night.

And so for the first time in my life, I went to sleep not knowing exactly what I wanted to believe.


End file.
